WHAT HAPPENED: Despite a rain delay and persistently threatening skies clouding Court 17, No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina continued her sunny start to the 2021 US Open with a determined 6-2, 7-5 win over 22-year-old qualifier Rebeka Masarova.
The 26-year-old Ukrainian, who has been aptly described as “deceptively casual,” prevailed on the strength of deep groundstrokes, cagey movement, and effective serving that blunted Masarova’s power. In fact, Svitolina claimed the match without facing a single break point while nailing 91 percent of first serve points and 69 percent of second serve points.
Masarova, a native Swiss who has played for Spain since 2018, began the match with the patience and overall solid game, which enabled her to peak in the WTA rankings at No. 230 on August 16, 2021. She never played poorly, yet simply couldn’t put a dent in the considerable armor of Svitolina, who quickly captured two breaks before closing out the 26-minute first set.
Even as Masarova hung tough in fighting off multiple break points to even the second set at 5-5, Svitolina remained safely in control. Following a brief rain delay courtesy of the remnants of Hurricane Ida, the players returned to court with Masarova down two break points and Svitolina just five points from the match. It took just one more, with Masarova delivering her first double-fault to give away the lead. Svitolina, with victory never in doubt, then closed out the match with a crosscourt backhand and clenched fist.
WHAT IT MEANS: Svitolina is now riding a seven-match win streak, having earned her 16th career title in Chicago following a bronze medal performance at the Tokyo Olympics. Svitolina may not hit exceptionally hard, but she delivers with consistency and intimidating fitness, frequently springing out of her chair before time is called on a changeover.
Coming into the 2021 US Open, Masarova had won 30 of her last 33 matches since May, including her first two ITF titles at Platja d’Aro and Palma del Rio. She endured nine hours on court just to qualify for this Grand Slam debut, beating three higher ranked players. In her opening round, Masarova edged No. 102 Ana Bogdan in three dramatic tiebreak sets, equaling the record for longest women’s singles match played at the US Open at 3 hours, 40 minutes. While she didn’t get the best of Svitolina on this day, Masarova continues to build on the success that began in juniors with the 2016 Roland Garros crown and 2017 Australian Open runner-up title.
MATCH POINT: Svitolina, who tied the knot this summer with ATP standout Gael Monfils, will face either Marketa Vondrousova or No. 25 Daria Kasatkina in the third round.
