What separates Top 5 players from the rest? Svitolina is showing us

NEW YORK—What is the X factor that separates the Top 10 from players outside the Top 50? It’s not an easy question to answer, but with Elina Svitolina and Shelby Rogers contesting their third-round match on Saturday at the US Open, the question naturally crept into my mind.

The No. 62-ranked Rogers has, of course, enjoyed a very solid career, but has had nowhere near the huge success Svitolina has had. The Ukrainian was a top-ranked junior, and quickly became a big name on the pro tour. She has won nine career WTA titles, her biggest ones coming this year in Rome and Toronto.

On Saturday, Svitolina showed what makes her a resident of the Top 10 with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Rogers to reach the fourth round of the US Open.

Ranked No. 4 in the world, the 22-year-old Svitolina has yet to peak at the majors, having only reached the quarterfinals twice (both times at Roland Garros).

Rogers, too, has done her best in Paris, putting together a dream run to the quarterfinals in 2016. But for the most part, she has been part of a group of mid-20s American women that consistently stick around the Top 60-100, but never quite achieve the breakthrough they need to join the elite.

On Thursday, while 24-year-old Rogers was battling Daria Gavrilova in what would become the longest women’s match in US Open history, her compatriot, Nicole Gibbs, was up a set against world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova. She failed to pull off the upset, and Rogers nearly failed herself, squandering three match points before eventually sealing the third-round berth in a tiebreaker. Christina McHale, a fellow Top 100 American warrior, fell to talented 20-year-old Daria Kasatkina.

What is it that puts Top 10 stars like Svitolina ahead of everyone else?

Svitolina executes when she has the opportunity. She knows the tactics that will suit her strengths and will most disrupt her opponent, and she takes charge when it matters most. There’s less hesitation, and much less doubt on her side of the court, especially in the trickiest moments of a match. Rogers certainly had her chances in the second set, and put up a fight, but it wasn’t enough—Svitolina always had the upper hand.

While American teenagers have to deal with the choice of attending college or turning pro, Svitolina never even blinked, turning pro in 2010 when she was just 15 years old. That was certainly rolling the dice, but that move also removed any backup options and had her focusing on the task at hand with full, committed force.

“This Grand Slam is a special one because everyone is fighting for No. 1 spot, as well,” Svitolina said. “But for me, I just try to, you know, take one match at a time. Of course, I know that I'm a high seed and there is expectations, but everyone is going on court and trying to beat you and [do everything] they can. And for me, it’s very important just to be there with my game and to fight for [the] next round.”

Rogers, by sealing that roller-coaster win over Gavrilova and by turning pro at 17 before colleges came knocking down her door, can still separate herself from the wrong side of the Top 50. She’s almost there after all, having put herself up to a projected No. 58 with this week’s run. But for Svitolina, her career trajectory has been like the lighting of a match; Rogers, on the other hand, has crept slowly and steadily, more like a forest fire.

That je ne sais quoi that the greats have is hard to define. In the case of Svitolina, it’s all about execution. When the going gets tough, and there’s a critical game or a tiebreaker to be won, the best players raise their levels. Pros like Svitolina get it done. The next tier of pros are chomping at the bit for the upset, but more often than not they end up on the losing side of the match.

“Well, of course there will be expectations for all the top players,” Svitolina said. “It's quite normal to have this, and I would prefer to [be on] top and have these kind of expectations than be somewhere out of Top 20 or something, and to [not] have that.”

The good news, in the case of Rogers especially, is that there’s still a next time. The better news for Svitolina is that she gets to show off her execution skills again on Monday.

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