Elina Svitolina is back to winning ways at the US Open, getting her first win since 2021, ending a mini-losing streak by beating Anna-Lena Friedsam.
Elina Svitolina didn't have an ideal preparation for the US Open, with an early exit in Montreal and then a minor injury that left her unable to play in Cincinnati. The Ukrainian returned in high spirits to New York by taking part in the US Open charity event for Ukraine.
Her first competitive match proved another pleasurable experience as she easily bested Friedsam in two sets to advance to the second round. The opening set went 6-3 to Svitolina as the players put forward a completely different effort.
Svitolina was amazing, with 11 winners and only 2 unforced errors. Friedsam was pretty bad, with only four winners and 12 unforced errors. Things didn't go that much better in the second set as Svitolina kept applying the pressure and her opponent simply couldn't deal.
The Ukranian had 11 winners again and even served really well, making things easier. Friedsam still struggled to put the ball into the court, and it's reflected in the score. It's a strange one because the German isn't a player to lose matches like this often.
She was simply overwhelmed by Svitolina, who produced a really sensational effort. Look at the stats; she had 4 aces and lost only 4 points behind her first serve. On top of that, she had 22 winners and only 4 unforced errors, which are incredible numbers for any player.
Friedsam helped with her non-effort, but much of that had to do with what Svitolina was doing on the opposite side, winning 6-3, 6-1. Up next for the Ukranian is native player Crawley or Anastasia Pavlycuhenkova. That match is yet to be played, but both will be underdogs against this Svitolina.