Svitolina comes from a set down to beat Muchova and stay alive at the WTA Finals

Sixth seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine beat Czech seventh seed Karolina Muchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in 2 hours 3 minutes in Group 2 of the WTA Finals in Indian Wells on Wednesday. Svitolina, who lost 6-4, 6-0 to Mirra Andreeva in her opener, will play for a semi-final spot against Aryna Sabalenka on Friday.

It was her 11th match win at the WTA Finals, which she won in 2018, and her first at the event since 2019, according to the WTA. Muchova, beaten by Sabalenka 7-6 (2), 7-5 on Monday, has now lost both her matches and will be eliminated if Andreeva beats Sabalenka.

WTA Finals Group 2: provisional standings

Group 2

Group 2

Rank	Player	Country	W-L	Sets	Games
1	Mirra Andreeva[3]		1-0	2-0	12-4
2	Aryna Sabalenka[2]		1-0	2-0	14-11
3	Elina Svitolina[6]		1-1	2-3	18-22
4	Karolina Muchova[7]		0-2	1-4	21-28

Top two to the semi-finals

Andreeva and Sabalenka, both unbeaten, have yet to meet. Svitolina plays Sabalenka and Muchova plays Andreeva in the last round-robin matches. The top two reach the semi-finals on Saturday.

“I think I was making too many errors in the first set and not even letting her play the game,” Svitolina told Tennis Channel after the match. “So then I tried to play through the middle and just tried to hit the ball to find the shots and then open the court. I think it worked well.”

You might also like this

Noskova breaks Gauff five times to become first WTA Finals semi-finalist

tennis majors

Pegula knocks out alternate Kostyuk to stay in WTA Finals semi-final race

tennis majors

Andreeva saves all six break points to beat Svitolina on WTA Finals debut

tennis majors

Sabalenka edges Muchova for fifth straight opening win at the WTA Finals

tennis majors

How Svitolina beat Muchova

Muchova took the first set 6-3 with her variety and trips to the net, while Svitolina struggled for rhythm, with five winners to 14 unforced errors in the set. The Ukrainian also received treatment from the physio for a problem with her right leg during the first set, Tennis Now reported.

She turned the match around from the second set, leading 4-2 before serving it out, then broke twice in the decider. Svitolina hit 22 winners, 17 of them in the last two sets, and lost only four games after the opener. Muchova made eight double faults.

The result improved Svitolina’s record in deciding sets to 19 wins and five losses this season, and to 6-1 at the WTA Finals. She now leads Muchova 4-1 in their head-to-head, and has won both of their meetings on hard courts.

Sabalenka next for Svitolina

Svitolina, 32, reached the WTA Finals for the first time since becoming a mother, and said it had been her goal since returning to the tour. “I think this was my goal after coming back after pregnancy, to come back to the Top 10 and to play here,” she said. “So of course I’m really proud of the effort with my team. It feels great to play here after so many years.”