Elina Svitolina ground her way to a 2026 DC Open quarterfinals rematch with Alexandra Eala in Thursday night's Round of 16 battle. The No. 2 seed outlasted Polina Kudermetova 7-6(4), 6-4 in a match that tested her nerves from the opening set in Washington.
Elina Svitolina Defeats Polina Kudermetova to Reach DC Open Quarterfinals
Kudermetova served for the first set twice and held a set point at 6-5. Still, Svitolina clawed back with a backhand passing shot to force the tiebreak. Then she pulled away. In the second set, she saved three break points at 4-3 before closing out the win in one hour and 27 minutes.
"I was trying to be locked in… first match, hard courts, everything is new," said the world No. 10.
The victory snapped Svitolina's month-long winless stretch dating back to June 23rd.
Alexandra Eala Readies for Mubadala DC Open Test
Now she faces Eala, after the Filipina rising star beat her 6-3, 6-4 on grass in Berlin just six weeks ago. However, Svitolina sees the Washington Open quarterfinal as a clean slate.
"Tomorrow is a new surface, new country, a new city, so it's a new challenge," she said. "Hopefully I'm going to draw some confidence from today's match and carry it into tomorrow."
