To reach the finals, the “blue and yellow” only need to defeat their opponents in one more match.
The second match of the Ukraine – Poland tie in the Billie Jean King Cup was somewhat surprising but ended predictably – with a confident victory for Elina Svitolina, who secured the second point for the “blue and yellow.”
RBK-Ukraine reports on how the game unfolded, referencing the official tournament website.
Also read: Return to the happy courts: Svitolina revealed grand plans for the clay season
Bille Jean King Cup, qualification
Ukraine – Poland – 2:0
Elina Svitolina – Katarzyna Kawa – 6:2, 6:1
Megastar against underdog
After Marta Kostyuk easily defeated the leader of the Polish team, Magda Linette, it seemed that there would be no problems for Svitolina against Kawa.
Just look at it: on one side of the net was a true megastar of world tennis, ranked 7th in the WTA and a winner of numerous tournaments, Svitolina. On the other side was the rather modest Kawa, who has never risen higher than 112th in the world rankings (and that peak was in 2020), and has never advanced beyond the second round in Grand Slam tournaments. Currently, Kawa is ranked 160th globally. In the national rankings, she holds the sixth position.
And this is not about a young promising athlete with a bright future ahead. Katarzyna is already 33 – two years older than Svitolina.
Match details
Nevertheless, the start of the match was not easy for Elina and was quite strange overall. The opponents took turns giving away their serves. This parade of generosity continued until the fifth game, when Svitolina literally clawed her way to win the next rally on her serve.
The Ukrainian finally took the lead – 3:2, and this moment became pivotal. Kawa did not score any more points for the rest of the set: Svitolina won – 6:2.
In the second set, it was significantly easier for Elina. She surged ahead from the start (3:0) and it seemed she would follow Kostyuk by gifting the opposing team another “bagel.” However, Kawa managed to win a consolation game (making the score 1:3), which only delayed her inevitable defeat. The match lasted 53 minutes.
Svitolina won her 19th singles match in the Billie Jean King Cup, setting a new record for the national team, which she herself holds.
What’s next
The Ukraine – Poland tie will continue on Saturday, April 11. At 1:00 PM Kyiv time, the doubles teams will take to the court. Ukrainians Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok will play against Maia Chwalinska and Katarzyna Kawa.
If the “blue and yellow” win, the confrontation will end there. If not, two more singles matches are possible:
- Elina Svitolina – Magda Linette
- Marta Kostyuk – Katarzyna Kawa
The confrontation will continue until one of the teams wins three matches.
Also find out where Ukrainian tennis players ranked in the updated WTA rankings.
https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/ukraina-polsha-svitolina-pobeda-1681200000.html
