July 1, 2021: Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine in action during the second round of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships Grand Slam tennis tournament against Magda Linette of Poland - ZUMAa181 20210701_zaa_a181_231 Copyright: xRobxPrangex
Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko will face compatriot Elina Svitolina in the opening round of the Italian Open
Lesia Tsurenko is coming into this tournament after a third-round exit from the Madrid Open. She was in decent form in Madrid and registered two impressive victories in her first two matches.
She began her campaign with a comprehensive win over Lucia Bronzetti and then defeated 25th seed Jil Teichmann 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in an intense encounter before losing to eighth seed Daria Kasatkina in the Round of 32. The 33-year-old will look to carry forward this positive momentum to the Madrid Open and go deep into the competition.
Tsurenko’s best performance so far this season came at the Hua Hin Championships in February. She finished as runners-up but defeated multiple top seeds in the process. There is no doubt that Tsurenko can defeat much higher-ranked opponents on her day, but she has to focus on bringing more consistency in her game.
Svitolina is coming into this encounter at the back of a semi-final loss in the WTA Saint-Malo tournament. She was in fine touch during the competition and notably defeated fourth seed Ysaline Bonaventure in the second round. The former World No.3 began her campaign with a comprehensive 7-5, 6-1 victory against Greece’s Despina Papamichail. In the second round, she pulled off a major upset against Belgium’s Ysaline Bonaventure. She eventually lost to top seed Sloane Stephens in the semi-final of the competition.
Date – Monday, 8th May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – To be Announced
Location – Foro Italico
Match details – Round of 128 match
Tsurenko and Svitolina have played each other three rimes before on the WTA tour. Both come from Ukraine, and they know each other’s game very well. All the encounters were closely fought and the head-to-head tally currently stands at 2-1 in favour of Svitolina. It’s a difficult match to call as both players are very close to each other in terms of form and experience. We’re expecting an intense encounter with Tsurenko eventually editing out Svitolina in three sets.
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