Play of the Day: Elina Svitolina vs. Marketa Vondrousova, Wimbledon

"I'll Root For Her": Iga Swiatek Backs Elina Svitolina To Win First Major Title

It feels wrong to go against Elina Svitolina right now, as she is one of the best stories in tennis. However, I love a good let-down spot, and think this is a prime one for the Ukrainian. Svitolina is coming off one of the biggest wins of her career, as she ousted world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in three sets in the quarterfinals. It seems like everybody on the planet is now talking about the potential of Svitolina breaking through and winning her first major, and I don’t blame them given everything the Ukrainian has been through over the last 12 months. But Marketa Vondrousova is a very good player, and I think the Czech is going to find her way to the final.

Vondrousova is a former world No. 14 and is a lot better than her current ranking suggests. The lefty played her best tennis in the 2019 season, when she went 29-9 and made it to three finals. But Vondrousova is now giving her 2019 season a run for its money, as she is up to 27-10 since the start of 2023. Her Wimbledon run has been nothing short of spectacular, too. The Czech has already earned wins over Veronika Kudermetova, Donna Vekic and Jessica Pegula. Those first two players were viewed as serious threats to do damage in London, while Pegula is a Top 5 player.

Svitolina is likely going to have an advantage over Vondrousova in the power department, but that isn’t saying much. The Ukrainian might be able to pummel the ball from the baseline, but Vondrousova isn’t exactly lacking for power. And I think the Czech has a little more variety to game, while also possessing better defensive skills between these two. Vondrousova has been showing that she can really dig in and put difficult shots back in the court, and she’s getting them deep as well. The 24-year-old had never really shown she can do that on grass until this year, but she has looked like a natural on this surface over the last week.

Overall, I feel that Vondrousova has the type of game that should give Svitolina some problems. As for Svitolina, is she ready to come back out and fight for her spot in the final after a massive win over Swiatek? Or will she have trouble locking back in and focusing on the task at hand? I think it’s the latter, and I wouldn’t exactly blame her. This also happens to be an opponent that has won the last two matches in their head-to-head series.

Bet: Vondrousova ML (-125)