Svitolina dispatches Halep to win in Rome

Elina Svitolina, winning a WTA Tour-best fourth title in 2017, moved up to No. 1 in the season-long rankings race with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Simona Halep at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

The 22-year-old Ukrainian leads the tour with 31 match wins this season and the win now puts her among the favorites for the French Open, which starts next Sunday in Paris. It was her eighth career title.

“Every day I’m just trying to work on my mental part, my physical, my tennis,” the eighth-seeded Svitolina, ranked No. 11 in the world, said after the match. “Everything just came together and I’m very happy that it’s happened in such a big tournament.

“I think I can be proud of myself for handling the pressure, because I played some tough matches here. Today I needed to show that I am there and I want to win and I’m ready to do it.”

Svitolina’s career-best season includes winning back-to-back titles at the Taiwan Open and Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, and kicking off the clay court season with another win at the BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup on April 30.

Svitolina won her first match in six meetings against No. 2 seed Karolina Pliskova en route to the final, and faced her toughest test yet in Halep, who was aiming for the elusive Madrid-Rome double last earned in 2013 by 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.

“I saw she was really like playing and moving really good,” Svitolina said. “It was kind of expected that she would be tired.

“So I was trying to stay there, to put the pressure and to be there in the right moment, to be ready, at least to give myself a chance to come back in the second set.”

The sixth-seeded and fourth-ranked Halep of Romania was in control and serving for the first set at 5-2 when she rolled her right ankle on the Foro Italico stadium court, eventually clinching it two games later.

“At 5-3 in the second set, I turned to hit an inside out forehand, I felt it again,” Halep said after the match. “That’s why I called to tape it, because I was scared not to do something worse.

“I never like to give up during the match. I don’t want to stop the matches. So I just wanted to try to win the second set.”

Taking a 3-1 and later a 5-3 lead in the second, Svitolina held off several attempts from Halep to break and level the match in the 12th game, starting a string of seven straight games to put herself on the brink of victory.

Svitolina struck 25 winners to 37 unforced errors and converted seven of 11 break point chances, while Halep hit 30 winners to 47 errors.

“After the end of the tournament, it’s always a big relief that the tournament is finished and even bigger relief when you win,” Svitolina said. “I will train on Wednesday. My team was begging me to go back home, because they are tired, as well.

“I’m going to Paris. I’m going to enjoy a couple of days with my friends, just chill and recover properly and be ready for first match in Paris.”