Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: Two match balls blocked - Elina Svitolina ends Petra Kvitova's dream of defending her title
Petra Kvitova will not defend her title at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Elina Svitolina fended off two match points against the Czech and finally won 6: 7 (4), 7: 5 and 6: 2.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Apr 23, 2021, 07:49 pm
Actually, everything had looked so good for Petra Kvitova. But only actually. The defending champion was already leading against Elina Svitolina 7: 6 (4) and 5: 2 and seemed on the best way to the semi-finals. But then the Ukrainian started a remarkable comeback.
First she fended off a match point on her own serve and broke Kvitova to 4: 5 from her point of view. As if that wasn't enough, Svitolina defused a match point in the following game, secured this game and won the next two games - a 2: 5 turned into a 7: 5.
In the third set, the 26-year-old, who sometimes played incredible balls from the defensive, had a much easier game and only played two games. In the end it was 6: 7 (4), 7: 5 and 6: 2 from Svitolina's point of view, which ended Kvitova's dream of defending the title at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
The world number five will meet Ashleigh Barty in the semi-finals on Saturday. The Australian had already celebrated a similarly strong comeback victory as Svitolina in the afternoon.
Here the single tableau in Stuttgart
parena