Six years later, Elina Svitolina (30 years old) is back in the quarterfinals in Melbourne. The Ukrainian who still runs after a first coronation in Grand Chelem disposed easily this Monday of the Russian Veronika Kudermetova, against whom she remained on two defeats. The wife of Gaël Monfils, also still in the race, will be opposed to Madison Keys.
Like her husband Gaël Monfils, Elina Svitolina saw a second youth in this Australian Open. Admittedly, the Ukranian is less elderly (30 years old) than his husband champion, who had blown his 38 candles on September 1. Still, it’s been a while since she had not shone in Melbourne too. Because the tournament continues for the former world number 3 when the second week has just started. And it’s anything but anecdotal, because “Svito”, who hastened to take her shower and change after her victory to bear her husband against Ben Shelton, had not found herself in the quarter -finals in Melbourne for six years.
His latest quarter in Grand Chelem dates back much shorter, since the Ukrainian had reached this stage of the competition two years ago in Roland-Garros. Still in search of a first title (but also of a first final) in an adult, the 27th in the classification now remained on two defeats against Veronika Kudermetova, which she had not faced since 2021 however.
On Monday, in the first game of the day, the Ukrainian gave the record straight by correcting the Russian (6-4, 6-1) despite a very bad start (the world world had led 4-1 at the start of the match) to climb in the quarters of the Australian meeting for the third time in his life. She has never tasted it yet at the last square on the other hand.
Against Keys for a first?
To repair this anomaly, Svitolina will have to get rid of the next round of Madison Keys, then falls from Elena Rybakina in three sets (6-3, 1-6, 6-3). Like the Ukrainian, the American finds an excellent level of tennis which allows her to hope to reconnect too with her best result at the Australian Open, namely the semi-finals, in 2015 and 2022. Since then, the 14th world and head of number 19 had not done better than a sixteenth final. If she wins against Svitolina, the 2017 US Open finalist will also be able to dream of a first Grand Slam final.
