Preview and Prediction
Svitolina may be the surprise of the season. She looks rejuvenated at 31, and comes into this match with an 18-3 record, a title in Brisbane, a final in Dubai, a semi at the Australian Open, two wins over Coco Gauff, and one over Mirra Andreeva. She started Indian Wells by gritting out a three-set win over slice machine Laura Siegemund, so you know she’s ready for anything.
Now, though, she’ll have to raise her game a level. Swiatek is 4-1 against Svitolina, and she’s playing in one of her favorite locations. She has won two titles on these courts, and she just dominated two strong opponents, Maria Sakkari and Karolina Muchova, back to back.
Swiatek knows that Svitolina is stubborn enough to make life more difficult for her. She says Svitolina bases her game “on being solid, running to everything and getting every ball back.”
“I’m gonna have to have a lot of discipline to just finish the point even a couple of times,” Iga says.
Fortunately for Swiatek, that’s exactly the kind of patience and discipline she was working on before she came here. Winner: Swiatek
