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Elina Svitolina was all praise for Emma Raducanu after getting the better of the Brit 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 in the second round of the Auckland Classic on Thursday (January 4).
Svitolina also compared the level of the Auckland encounter against Raducanu to the contest she had with World No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinals.
The Ukrainian, who trailed 1-5 in the opening set, lauded Raducanu for the manner in which the 21-year-old began the match while also stressing that her own level at the start was bad.
"It was a really high level (match). I would say, maybe, a similar match I had with Iga as well at Wimbledon. We were striking the ball well, every point that we played finished with a winner pretty much and (we had) good competitive sets. I think, it was my second-best match that I played level-wise," Svitolina stated in the post-match press conference. (3:35)
The Ukranian caused a major upset in the Wimbledon quarterfinals when she defeated Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2. But Svitolina went down to eventual champion Marketa Vondrousova in the semifinal.
The 29-year-old admitted that she did not start the Auckland contest as well as she would have liked to and was not a "hundred percent mentally".
"Of course, my level at the start of the match was really bad. I was not there a hundred percent maybe mentally. Also, Emma played really well. She didn't miss one ball until 5-1 (in the first set)," Elina Svitolina added.
The best moments from Elina Svitolina's 2023 season
Elina Svitolina, who announced that she was taking a break from the game in March 2022, returned to action at the 2023 Charleston Open in April after welcoming her first child Skai Monfils in October.
After a string of early exits, Svitolina made it to the semifinals of the WTA 125 event at Saint-Malo where she lost to eventual winner Sloane Stephens in straight sets.
A win over Anna Blinkova in the finals at Strasbourg helped Svitolina clinch her 17th career title. At Roland Garros, the Odesa-born player defeated ninth seed Daria Kasatkina in the fourth round before falling to Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals.
Victories over Venus Williams, Elise Mertens, Sofia Kenin and Victoria Azarenka enabled Elina Svitolina to set up a Wimbledon quarterfinal match-up against Iga Swiatek. A remarkable win against the Pole at Wimbledon was Svitolina's biggest moment during the 2023 season.
Svitolina reached the quarterfinals of the Citi Open before going down to Jessica Pegula 6-4, 3-6, 4-6. She lost to the American again in the third round of the US Open.
