Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina won the Rome Open championship on May 20, defeating Romanian Simona Halep for first place.
The Ukrainian player thus retained the Rome title that she won in 2017, defeating her Romanian opponent for the second year in a row at the Foro Italico final.
Svitolina, 23, triumphed over Halep with a 6-0, 6-4 score in the championship finals. The match lasted only one hour and seven minutes.
“It’s nice that we’re in the final again, both of us. She’s a very tough opponent and a great player,” Halep said at a pre-match press conference.
Svitolina ranks as the fourth best player in the world according to a ranking from the Women’s Tennis Association.
Svitolina dominated Halep in the first set. Easily winning most of the back-and-forths, the Ukrainian played a strong backhand, while Halep had no chance to make the breakpoints. The set ended at 6-0 in Svitolina’s favor.
The second set started with competition between the two players, but Svitolina continued to beat her opponent by making a break with a score of 3-1 (A-40). In the seventh game, Svitolina had a chance to break again (40-40), but Halep was able to keep her serve. The Ukrainian tennis star confidently brought the match to victory, winning her second title in Rome.
This season, Svitolina has already won three tournaments (Brisbane, Dubai and Rome). Also, this is her 12th title overall and her fourth title on clay.
Svitolina’s next tournament will be at Roland Garros in Paris on May 27 – June 10.
