Svitolina win sends ominous message to AO opponents

No.3 seed Elina Svitolina showed why she could be a force to be reckoned with at the Australian Open with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Andrea Petkovic in Melbourne today.

After shaky start, losing the opening game, the Ukrainian cruised to five straight games and the first set.

The second set was a little more complicated with five consecutive breaks of service from 2-2.

Svitolina then fell behind love-30 with the set at 5-4, but then hit four points in a row and an ace to round out the match.

Meanwhile, Former World No.11 Alizé Cornet overcame Australian Ajla Tomljanovic 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 in the3 best match of the day, lasting over two hours.

Tomljanovic took the first set in a evenly fought match but Cornet dominated the second, tightening her game after 21 unforced errors in the first.

She then broke Tomljanovic in the first and last games of the final set to clinch her second win in three meetings against the Aussie.

“From the beginning of the second set, it was a totally different match,” said a relieved Cornet afterwards.

Peter Rowe

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