Does the Svitolina fairytale continue in London?
The ranks have thinned and for the first time in her career, four-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek has now reached the quarter-finals on the time-honoured grass of the Wimbledon Championships. To do so, however, the world number one had to fend off two match points in the round of 16. So it’s not a foregone conclusion that Iga Swiatek’s next win against Elina Svitolina will be for the Pole.
Meanwhile, former world champion Elina Svitolina achieved the feat of becoming the first wild-card player since Sabine Lisicki (2011) to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. The Ukrainian not only triumphed over former champion Venus Williams during the tournament, but also beat two-time Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka. Results to factor into the prediction for Iga Swiatek against Elina Svitolina.
There is no denying that the Polish world number one, who has won 42 of her 48 singles matches in 2023, is the favourite. However, Iga Swiatek is certainly vulnerable on grass, which is why it is best to place a bet that does not categorically rule out a surprise.
The bet on Iga Swiatek winning a maximum of twelve matches is correspondingly interesting. That should not only cover just about every win by Elina Svitolina, but also most of the two-set wins by the favourite.
Iga Swiatek – Statistics & current form
Current ranking in the world rankings: 1
Position in the seedings: 1
Only 22 years old, Iga Swiatek from Poland is and remains the high-flyer on the WTA Tour. The current number one in the WTA world rankings has already won four Grand Slam trophies, although three of these four titles go back to the French Open.
The Pole has also had resounding success on hard court. For example, she won the Sunshine Double in 2022 and the US Open. On grass, however, Iga Swiatek has never won a tournament before.
Won 42 of 48 singles matches in 2023
In recent years, the world number one has reached the round of 16 at the latest at the Wimbledon Championships. A fate that almost befell her this year, as she had to fend off two match points against Belinda Bencic when she was 1-0 down and 5-6 down in the second set.
In the end, however, she forced a tie-break and was able to drastically reduce her previously too high error rate in the deciding set, which earned her a place in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time. It was already her 42nd singles win in the 48th singles of 2023.
Only 13% of games won on return in round of 16
Now with Iga Swiatek against Elina Svitolina, the odds are very good that the world number one will also reach the semifinals for the first time, where Jessica Pegula or Markéta Vondrousová could be waiting.
The Polish player’s very strong serve speaks in favour of her advancing. Even in the complicated round of 16, she won 16 of her 17 service games and also scored with her second serve 61% of the time. However, her rate of winning only 13% of her return games also indicates that Iga Swiatek loses some of her feared return qualities on clay, which makes her quite vulnerable to attack.
Elina Svitolina – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 76
Seeded List Position: Wild Card
The 28-year-old Ukrainian Elina Svitolina has slipped significantly in the world rankings because the wife of tennis pro Gael Monfils became a mother for the first time last year. In Wimbledon, the 2018 world champion therefore received a wild card for the main draw.
Elina Svitolina, who stormed into the quarter-finals of the French Open with Protected Ranking, played big. The Ukrainian is the first player since Sabine Lisicki (2011) to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a wild card.
Won 16 of 24 singles matches in 2023 season
The Ukrainian recently celebrated a very emotional victory against two-time Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka on the time-honoured lawn of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, in which she was carried to a 2-1 win by the crowd after clearly losing the first set (2-6, 6-4 and 7-6).
It was the 28-year-old’s 16th singles win in her 24th singles match of the 2023 season, which also brought her a singles title at a small WTA 250 tournament in Strasbourg at the end of May. Nevertheless, the odds are now clearly against the former world champion when it comes to Iga Swiatek against Elina Svitolina.
Once again in the Wimbledon semi-finals four years ago
Elina Svitolina is no stranger to the only Grand Slam tournament played on grass. The Ukrainian already worked her way to the semifinals in London in 2019, where she clearly missed out on a place in her first Grand Slam final against the eventual overall winner Simona Halep.
It would be even more of a fairytale if, as a young mother who has remarkably quickly regained her old level of performance, she were to reach the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Championships again four years later. To do so, however, Svitolina will have to knock out none other than the reigning world number one…
Iga Swiatek – Elina Svitolina Direct comparison / H2H record
Head to head: 1:0
For the first and only time so far, both players faced each other in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open in Rome in 2021. On clay, Iga Swiatek beat Elina Svitolina 2-0 in two sets (6-2 and 7-5). Now the two athletes will meet for the first time on grass.
Iga Swiatek – Elina Svitolina Tip
The betting odds on Iga Swiatek against Elina Svitolina are clearly in favour of the Pole, who has reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time in her career and is much more vulnerable on grass than on the other surfaces. Although the world number one has won 42 of her 48 singles matches this year, she had to stretch very hard in the last 16 when she had to fend off two match points.
The forecast for Iga Swiatek against Elina Svitolina is correspondingly interesting, with the favoured Pole winning a maximum of twelve games. That not only covers most of the clear two-set victories of the world number one, but also most of the constellations in which she has to concede defeat to the Ukrainian
