Svitolina after surviving tough test against Linette in Strasbourg opener: "I was trying just to fight and in the end I was lucky I finished in two sets"

Elina Svitolina continued her return to action with a second round win against Magda Linette at the Internationaux de Strasbourg.

Svitolina needed to fend off a set point though in the second in a tight 7-6, 7-5 victory in just under two hours and the No.2 seed was relieved to get through in straight sets in the end after being embroiled in a real battle.

"It definitely was not easy," said Svitolina afterwards. "She was fighting back, she was trying to produce a good level; I was up and down. It's not easy to come from another tournament with different balls, different conditions. I was trying just to fight and in the end I was lucky I finished in two sets."

The World No.5 went on to admit that she produced some of her best when the potential was there for the match to go long. "Definitely when you are down and you don't want to lose a set, you are more aware of what's going on," she said.

"You are trying to be 100% focused and not give easy points to your opponents. So you are slightly more focused - if you do this you are rewarded if you get back into the set. If you don't, well, you lose the set! So it's a tricky situation. But when I was down I was playing quite good, so it was important for me to stay in the match."