Svitolina Triumphs Again: wins controversial match against Victoria Azarenka in DC Open Opener

Elina Svitolina defeated Victoria Azarenka 7-6(2), 6-4 and advanced to the second round of the WTA 500 DC Open.

The Ukrainian tennis player arrived with good feelings after her recent performances, being the champion of the Estrasburgo Open, a quarterfinalist in the French Open, and a semifinalist in Wimbledon.

Svitolina's rise in the rankings has been explosive. From April 24th to this date, she went from being outside the top 1000 to being the world No. 27, with only six tournaments played.

In her last appearance at Wimbledon, she surprised everyone by reaching the semifinals and defeating the world No. 1, Iga Swiatek, along the way, before falling to the eventual champion, Marketa Vondrousova.

At SW19, there was a controversial match against Victoria Azarenka, after Svitolina's decision not to shake hands with Russian or Belarusian players. Precisely, the world No. 1 was drawn as her opponent in this first round, with Azarenka leading the head-to-head record 5-1 in her favor.

The first set began with Svitolina being relentless, winning eleven consecutive points to take a 3-0 lead and secure two breaks. Azarenka fought back and managed to level the match by breaking back twice.

Both players took advantage of the opportunities they had to break each other's serve. The set went into a tie-break, where the Ukrainian quickly took a 4-0 lead and held on to win the set 7-6(2).

The second set once again had a constant exchange of breaks on both sides. While Svitolina surrendered her serve on four occasions, Azarenka lost her service for the fifth time in the tenth game, securing the final victory for Svitolina, 7-6, 6-4.

With this result, Svitolina advances to the second round, where she will face the winner of the match between Elise Mertens and the Russian fifth seed, Daria Kasatkina.