Elina Svitolina produced a remarkable comeback at Roland Garros on Sunday, saving three match points to defeat fourth seed Jasmine Paolini and secure a place in the French Open quarter-finals.
The Ukrainian, seeded 13th, came from a set down to claim a dramatic 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 victory in a last-eight clash that lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours.
“I still can’t quite believe I won,” Svitolina admitted after the match. “Jasmine was playing so well—it was incredibly tough. I just tried to stay calm and fight until the very last point.”
The 30-year-old will now face either reigning champion Iga Swiatek, who is aiming for a fourth straight title, or former Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals.
Svitolina, a consistent performer in Paris over the years, has reached the French Open quarter-finals five times but has never progressed beyond that stage.
Paolini, who was last year’s runner-up and recently won the Italian Open, appeared to be in control when she held three match points in the second set. However, Svitolina dug deep, surviving the pressure to edge a nerve-wracking tiebreak and force a third set.
“It all came down to a couple of crucial points,” Svitolina reflected. “That second set was so long and tense, but I just kept believing.”
Building on the momentum, Svitolina raced to a 4-0 lead in the deciding set and sealed the win on her first match point.
The defeat is Paolini’s second loss to Svitolina at a Grand Slam this year. At the Australian Open, she also took the opening set before the Ukrainian rallied back to win in three.
