Boosted by 250-title run in Chicago, Elina Svitolina moves into "third week" of competition in New York
The Ukrainian will face Simona Halep on Sunday.
WATCH: Svitolina and Monfils sing
Fifth-ranked Elina Svitolina is into the second week of the US Open, but she's also into her third week of competition.
The 26-year-old Ukrainian, who reached the semifinals of the 2019 US Open, won the title at the WTA 250 tournament in Chicago the week before Flushing Meadows. Rather than adding fatigue, Svitolina says the event helped her get on a roll coming into the Open. She now has won eight matches in a row.
"I think the improvements started in Chicago. Every match I was playing better and better, trying to build on physically, mentally," she told press. "Here, you know, I played some tough opponents from the first round. [Rebecca] Marino, she was serving great. The second match , it was tricky one. I never got to see any match of the girl (Rebeka Masarova), so it was quite tricky.
"Another big battle against Daria [Kasatkina]. She's a very tricky player."
She's also been on a run recently in other ways, getting married to fellow pro Gael Monfils and then winning a bronze medal at the Olympic Games.
A former No. 3, Svitolina has a record of underperforming at Grand Slams—she has only reached two Grand Slam semifinals, both in 2019, and four quarterfinals. She says it has helped to have Monfils competing alongside her at big events.
"His draw I'm looking even more probably than mine," she said with a laugh, and not for the only time.
“Some people might say it can be distraction. For us, it definitely is not a distraction. It's a big motivation for both of us because we both are in the tournament and both very competitive. We try to put everything what is possible, to go both far in tournament, try to do better than the other one.”
The draw, though, isn't getting get any easier for Svitolina. Next, she meets two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep.
"I look match by match," she said. "It's going to be another big battle and great match.
"I just have to recover, time with my coach on some tactics, on some points that I have to pay attention to tactically, yeah, try to execute it as much as I can."