Elina Svitolina wasn't feeling 100% but showed incredible fighting spirit to book a spot in the final of the ASB Classic in Auckland where she will face off against Coco Gauff after seeing off Xiyu Wang 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Svitolina has only won 20 out of previous 44 semi-finals in her career in a point she has often struggled and this showed in the early stages as Wang broke Svitolina's serve three out of four times in the opening set. As a result, she sent the Ukrainian into trouble early winning the opening set 6-2 and created a break point chance early in the second to bookend a potential surge towards the finishing line.
Svitolina d. Wang 2-6 6-4 6-3 in Auckland Elina wasn’t feeling 100% today, but she fought back from a set down Part of what’s made her a top player for so many years is her relentless spirit ✅21st final ✅Won 21 of last 27 matches Never back down. Never give up. 🇺🇦💙🇺🇦
But Svitolina improved significantly and staring down the barrel at defeat rose to the occasion winning the set 6-4 from there after crafting the only break point chance she had in the tenth game of the second set. After that, the third set became a formality after she sealed two breaks she led 5-1.
She was broken herself from there, but managed to serve it out with no fear to seal the win. Next up will be Coco Gauff in a battle of the top two seeds in this tournament and despite her poor semi-final record, her final record sees her having lost only three out of her 20 career finals so Gauff who needs to win the title to remain playing this tournament next year due to new rules could be under the cosh.
"It was really difficult today for me. I had really tough matches in the first three rounds. Finishing yesterday last night, going to bed at 2 a.m. It was not easy, but I tried to push myself. I played like there’s no tomorrow. I just tried to fight and give everything for this win today."
