World No. 7 Elina Svitolina opened her Roland Garros campaign with a hard-fought first-round victory over Hungary’s Anna Bondar, prevailing 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 [10-3] in 2 hours and 26 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. The win gave Svitolina a 3-2 lead in their head-to-head and ended a three-match losing streak against Bondar, while extending her remarkable run of reaching the second round in Paris to 13 consecutive appearances.
The match was the latest in a surprisingly frequent rivalry between the two players, who have met five times in the past year and four times at Grand Slams. Their previous four meetings had all been straight-sets contests, but this time the pair produced a tense three-set battle that went down to a 10-point match tiebreak. Bondar, ranked 50 places behind Svitolina in the PIF WTA Rankings, has repeatedly proved difficult for the Ukrainian, making the matchup one of the more competitive lower-profile rivalries on the WTA Tour.
Bondar struck first by taking the opening set 6-3, using an aggressive backhand and strong returning to break at a key moment late in the set. Svitolina responded strongly in the second set, earning an early break and then showing her resilience under pressure by saving five break points, including three in a single game when Bondar threatened to swing the momentum back. Svitolina’s improved serving and sharper shot-making helped her level the match 6-1.
The deciding set became a test of endurance and composure. Both players had chances, and Svitolina faced a critical hold at 3-3, surviving a lengthy game filled with deuces and multiple break points before escaping with an ace following a line-call review. She then broke Bondar at love to move ahead 5-3 and appeared to be in control. Bondar, however, responded with a burst of form, winning 12 of 13 points to break back and move in front 6-5, putting Svitolina under immediate pressure to stay alive.
Svitolina answered again, holding at love to force the first match tiebreak of the tournament. In the breaker, she quickly separated from Bondar and dominated 10-3, creating seven match points and converting two to close out the win. The finish underlined Svitolina’s toughness in deciding sets, where she has built a strong record this season.
After the match, Svitolina said the conditions were difficult because of the heat and the quality of Bondar’s play, but credited her ability to stay mentally locked in and raise her level in the second and third sets. She now advances to face qualifier and Grand Slam main-draw debutant Kaitlin Quevedo in the second round as she continues her pursuit of another deep Roland Garros run.
