Eastbourne International 2021: Elina Svitolina vs Elena Rybakina preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match Details

Fixture: (2) Elina Svitolina vs Elena Rybakina

Date: 23 June 2021

Tournament: Viking International Eastbourne 2021

Round: Second round (Round of 16)

Venue: Eastbourne, Great Britain

Category: WTA 500

Surface: Grass

Prize money: $565,530

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Elina Svitolina vs Elena Rybakina preview

Second seed Elina Svitolina will take on World No. 21 Elena Rybakina on Wednesday with a quarterfinal berth at the Eastbourne International up for grabs.

Since her run to the quarterfinals in Rome, the fifth-ranked Svitolina has struggled. She was knocked out of the French Open in the third round by eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova in a one-sided contest.

Her return to the grass hasn't been too kind either. Last week she was shown the door by Ekaterina Alexandrova in straight sets in her Berlin opener. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian was stretched to a third set tie-break by French Open quarterfinalist Paula Badosa before eking out a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(1) win in her Eastbourne opener.

Svitolina's next opponent, Elena Rybakina, has turned her fortunes around after an underwhelming start to the season. The 22-year-old made it to her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros, beating 23-time Major champion Serena Williams along the way.

She went down to eventual runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a nail-biting three-setter in the last eight. The grit that she showed in her 6-7(2), 6-2, 9-7 loss should, however, hold her in good stead for the rest of the season.

Rybakina has displayed that same fighting spirit since the tour moved to grass. The Kazakh staved off a mighty challenge from local favorite Harriet Dart to kick off her Eastbourne campaign with a 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4 win.

Elina Svitolina vs Elena Rybakina head-to-head

Elina Svitolina leads Elena Rybakina 1-0 in the head-to-head, having beaten the Kazakh in the Strasbourg final last year. Svitolina needed three sets to see off the determined Rybakina 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 on that occasion.

Elina Svitolina vs Elena Rybakina prediction

Both Svitolina and Rybakina have huge room for improvement after putting up error-strewn performances in their respective openers. Svitolina committed six double faults against Badosa and conceded 18 break points out of which she managed to save 13.

Rybakina, on the other hand, served seven aces but those were offset by an equal number of double faults. She dropped her serve thrice in the match and struggled on return. She converted just six of 22 break points against Dart, letting a host of opportunities pass.

If Rybakina can cut down on her errors and keep her serving woes aside, she should have the upper hand in this battle. She likes to take the ball early, which makes her a threat on this surface. Her free-flowing flat groundstrokes should rob Svitolina of time and put the Ukrainian in a spot of bother.

Svitolina also tends to go into her shell under pressure and that could spell doom should Rybakina find her range.

Prediction: Elena Rybakina to win in three sets.

Edited by Arvind Sriram