Elina Svitolina managed to beat Victoria Azarenka once again, this time at the 2023 Citi Open in Washington.
The tournament in Washington is the only joint ATP & WTA 500 tournament, and the women's field is truly star-studded. So star-studded that it offers a match between the former world no. 1 and former world no. 3, already in the first round of the draw.
Svitolina and Azarenka met multiple times on the WTA Tour before, but in recent history, at the time when they were both already mothers, only once. That match came at the 2023 Wimbledon, and it was Svitolina who managed to win the match in three sets.
The match was a real epic, but it was a really painful loss for Azarenka, not just because she lost, but also because she was booed off the court in London. Multiple players urged the WTA to release statement regarding handshakes between players from Ukraine and Russia and Belarus, and it finally happened.
Ahead of the 2023 Citi Open in Washington, the Ukrainian confirmed that there will be a statement during the match, and in fact, the tournament organizers put a statement on the big screens after the first set.
"At the conclusion of the match, there will be no handshake between the players. We appreciate your respect for both athletes during and following the match, and for your understanding during these difficult circumstances."
In the past, both players said that they would be much happier if their meetings were discussed because of the level of tennis they are able to deliver, and even though this time it wasn't a three-set epic, it was still a spectacular match.
The first set was a real rollercoaster. First, Svitolina won eleven consecutive points to lead 3-0, only to lose the lead, but not only that. Azarenka won five games in a row, leading 5-3 and serving for the set.
The Belarusian led 30-0, and she was only two points away from taking the opener, yet, it didn't happen. The Ukrainian won the following three games, only for Azarenka to take it into the tie-break.
But in the tie-break, Svitolina proved to be the better player, winning it 7-2 and completing the first-set comeback, even though she was the player that initially had a two-break lead in the opening set.
The second set was a game of breaks. In ten games, fans in Washington saw only one hold of serve, and that came from Svitolina in the fifth game of the set. Apart from that, it was one break after another, something really rare.
Thanks to the sole hold of serve, Svitolina was able to win the set and the match 7-6(2), 6-4 and make it to the second round of the 2023 Citi Open in Washington, where she'll play against either the fifth-seeded Daria Kasatkina or Elise Mertens.
As expected, the handshake didn't happen, even though both players acknowledged each other with quick thumbs up. However, this time, there was no booing as the Washington crowd had been informed by the organizers.
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