By Chris Oddo | Thursday May 17, 2018
Elina Svitoina overcame a first-set bagel to take out Russia's Daria Kasatkina in three on Thursday in Rome.
Photo Source: AP
Defending Internazionali BNL d’Italia champion Elina Svitolina rallied from a set down to turn the tide against Daria Kasatkina and book her spot in the Rome quarterfinals on Thursday in Rome.
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The Ukrainian improves to 4-0 against Kasatkina and 22-6 on the season with her win, which lasted one hour and 36 minutes and saw her claim six of nine break points in the final two sets against the 21-year-old Russian.
Svitolina is looking to kick-start her clay season after going just 2-2 at Madrid and Stuttgart. Last year she went 15-3 on clay and won the title in Rome before reaching the quarterfinal at Roland Garros.
In other action on Thursday in Rome, last year’s French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko edged Johanna Konta 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Angelique Kerber rolled over Greece’s Maria Sakkari, 6-1, 6-1.
Ostapenko moved into her first Rome quarterfinal and earned her first career win over Konta—she has won 12 of her last 14 on clay.
Kerber needed just 55 minutes to knock off Sakkari. The German will face Svitolina in the quarterfinals while Ostapenko will face the Sharapova-Gavrilova winner from later today.