TennisSection previews the 2021 French Open as Elina Svitolina (5) meets Ann Li in the Round of 64 on Thursday, June 3rd 2021.
Will Ann Li dominate through another match as she did in her first match here against Gasparyan? Will Elina Svitolina find more rhythm in her game as she was struggling with it in the second set against Babel? Both players can win this match if they are on top of their game, but only one will make their way to the Round of 32 here at Roland Garros 2021. Who will it be?
Ann Li has had a strong 2021 season, going 10-2 in her matches on the singles tour this year, and showing us all that she is definitely a rising star of the US Tennis prodigies. Ann Li dominated in her opening match here at the 2021 French Open, destroying Martina Gasparyan in straight sets 6-0/6-1. The match lasted an astonishing 46 minutes and Li was just on top of every point right from the start. Ann Li will be very proud of her performance, but she will also know that if she is to make the Round of 32 here at Roland Garros, she will have to raise her level even more against Elina Svitolina.
Elina Svitolina played both a great, but also up and down, match in her first match against Oceane Babel on Tuesday. Elina Svitolina won in straight sets 6-2/7-5, but she had to come back from 5-2 down in the second set to get the win. Elina was great during the first set, dictating play, wearing her opponent down in long rallies. However, the second set was the opposite. Elina was trying to finish the points too early, and this resulted in many mistakes, and her not being able to break back as fast as she should have. Elina will need to take the thought that she needs to stick to the game plan of playing rough tennis with long rallies, even when she is ahead, instead of trying to finish points off fast and taking shortcuts which can result in a loss. Can she do this against Ann Li?
Elina Svitolina and Ann Li have never met before, with this being their first encounter. If Elina Svitolina had played better in that second set against Babel I would be picking her to win this match easily. However, Elina showed a weakness here at Roland Garros 2021, she is not the best at fast points. Ann Li will look at that and try and adapt her game to be more aggressive, forcing Svitolina to try and win the points fast and get some errors out of the Ukrainian. It will be a tight match, with chances for both players, but at the end of the day, Elina will still come through to make the Round of 32 of the 2021 French Open due to her experience and firepower.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Elina Svitolina in 3 Sets.
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