Svitolina turns tables to upset Paolini at Australian Open; Keys advances

No.28 seed Elina Svitolina

View Profile followed in husband Gael Monfils' footsteps on Saturday at the Australian Open, ousting No.4 seed Jasmine Paolini

View Profile 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 to reach the second week in Melbourne for the fifth time.

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The preceding match on Margaret Court Arena had seen Monfils, 38, knock out the ATP No.4 seed Taylor Fritz to notch his first Top 5 win at a major since 2008. Svitolina, 30, made it a double upset for the household, sealing her first Top 5 win since defeating Iga Swiatek

View Profile at Wimbledon 2023.

"I want to say I got inspired after my husband's win," Elina Svitolina

View Profile told Andrea Petkovic in her on-court interview. "But I played so bad the first set, I'm not sure I was inspired!"

Svitolina attributed her comeback to her fighting spirit, and drew parallels with her country, which is still at war following the Russian invasion of 2022.

"I wouldn't be so proud if I were to finish the match that way, so I was trying to put a lot of fight there and stay as long as I can," she said. "In so many different levels, [Ukrainians] show the resilience. We are fighting for what is ours. We want really badly to have it -- fighting spirit is in our blood."

Last year, mother-of-one Svitolina came into the Australian in strong form, but was forced to retire from her fourth-round match against Linda Noskova

View Profile after just three games due to a back injury. She would struggle with various physical issues throughout the season, which she cut short after the US Open to undergo foot surgery. This is the first tournament following that procedure.

Svitolina will bid to reach her third Australian Open quarterfinal, and first since 2019, against Veronika Kudermetova

View Profile . The former No.9 defeated No.15 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia

View Profile 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second week of a major for the third time (first since the 2022 US Open), and first in Melbourne. 

How the match was won: Former No.3 Svitolina grabbed an early advantage, breaking Paolini for 2-1. But she fell away rapidly in the first set to lose five games in a row, landing just 41% of her first serves and committing 13 unforced errors to outweigh her four winners. By contrast, Paolini's forehand was in fine fettle and her first serve percentage solid at 71%.

Despite their closeness in age, the pair had not played each other before. The match-up started to come alive at the start of the second set as they engaged in several excellent all-court exchanges. Svitolina won the best of those with a sharply angled pass to consolidate an early break and hold for 3-1, and her forehand down the line at full stretch would become an increasingly reliable weapon.

Paolini battled hard to keep in touch throughout the second set, and escaped two set points and a barrage of Svitolina winners in the penultimate game. But the three-time major semifinalist would not be denied, serving it out after coming out on top of an athletic line-to-line exchange on her fourth set point.

Svitolina went from strength to strength in a flawless decider, in which she fired 13 winners and committed just three unforced errors. Every facet of her game clicked, particularly in important moments. Svitolina converted all three of her break points with clean winners, found her best deliveries to save two break points against her in the last game, then sealed her first match point with a backhand sizzler down the line.

Keys wins all-American clash: No.19 seed Madison Keys

View Profile improved to 3-1 overall against No.10 seed Danielle Collins

View Profile , winning the contest between compatriots 6-4, 6-4 to reach the Australian Open second week for a sixth time.

In a battle of front-foot tennis, Adelaide champion Keys was able to impose her aggressive plays more effectively than Collins, tallying 24 winners to her opponent's 12. A pair of Keys double faults early in the second set enabled Collins to build a 3-0 lead, but she regained her form -- particularly on her devastating forehand wing -- to reel off six of the last seven games.

Keys will next face No.6 seed Elena Rybakina

View Profile , with whom she has split two wins apiece in four previous meetings.