INTERVIEW: Svitolina working hard

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  • Svitolina is a rising star on the WTA Tour.

    It’s Christmas Day and world No. 19 Elina Svitolina is spending it – like the majority of her peers – on the practice court, thousands of miles away from home.

    The 21-year-old Ukrainian has been putting in the hard yards at the tennis facilities at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi in preparation for the new season which, for her, kicks off on January 3 in Perth, where she will partner her compatriot Alexandr Dolgopolov in the Hopman Cup.

    Svitolina, a rising star on the WTA Tour, is aware of the sacrifices she has to make in order to achieve her goals and not spending Christmas at home is just one of them.

    “I’m a bit used to it. I’m travelling all the time and of course I miss my family,” Svitolina told Sport360 on Friday at the Hilton Capital Grand Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

    “But they are here today and we try to spend as much time as we can together, especially in the offseason. So I’m really happy they’ve managed to come and join me here.”

    Playing in 30-degree weather during Christmas is “weird, but it’s life”, adds Svitolina with a smile.

    “It’s my third year here in Abu Dhabi and I’m enjoying it so much. The weather is really nice and the heat helps to push my body, my fitness a bit to the limit. The place is perfect for me,” she explains.

    Accompanied by her British coach Iain Hughes, Svitolina has had a special figure joining her camp in the UAE capital these past few days – Belgian ex-world No. 1 Justine Henin.

    Svitolina had trained at Henin’s academy in the past and is now contemplating adding the seven-time grand slam champion to her team.

    “She has been here with me, we’ve been practicing a little bit but we’ll see about our partnership for 2016. We’ll know about it a bit later,” Svitolina said. “Yes (it’s like a trial). Iain is here and we will be travelling together. It’s great. I have a big team. Of course sometimes I need to change like sparring partners and fitness coaches. But everyone has their own job and we’re doing a good job and looking forward to 2016.”

    On what Henin could bring to the table, she said: “It’s good to have something fresh, but still I’ve been working a lot with my coach (Iain) and he’s brought a lot to my game. So we will see how it will go with Justine. Of course, it’s going to be an amazing opportunity because she’s such a great champion.”

    Svitolina has been on many people’s radar ever since she won the Roland Garros junior title back in 2010. After capturing the $125K tournament in Pune in 2012, she took her first WTA title in Baku in 2013, defended that crown in 2014 and this year she added a third WTA trophy to her tally in Marrakech.

    But her biggest moment of this season came at Roland Garros where she made her first major quarter-final before falling to former champion Ana Ivanovic.

    “Roland Garros was a big thing for me. Of course you always want more, but it was a good sign for me that I can do it. If I work hard, if I prepare well, it always gives good result,” said Svitolina.

    She wanted to end the year ranked inside the top-15, a ranking she managed to reach in August after making an impressive march to the semi-finals in Cincinnati, but despite her minor slip down to 19, Svitolina is happy with her 2015.

    “There are of course some sad matches were I lost in three sets where just two points decided the match. But if I hadn’t lost them, probably I wouldn’t improve, I wouldn’t think about what I should have done differently, what I have to do in the future,” she insists.

    “I’m happy I could finish the year in the top-20. It’s a big step for me mentally that I can play good tennis during the whole year.

    “I had consistent results so now I just need to step to another level, to continue working hard.” 

    The mental side of her sport is something that intrigues Svitolina. She admits that had she not been playing tennis at the moment, she’d probably be studying psychology.

    “I’m reading a lot of books, I can’t say I’m a specialist in it but I try, first of all to help myself, and if I have some friends who ask for my opinion, I always try to help. I’m really into it,” she says. “I think it’s important for my sport as well. Especially in women’s tennis, it matters a lot.” 

    The way Svitolina operates is to aim big, work hard, and see where she lands.

    “I always try to set a goal which you cannot reach, then you always have something in front of you. I have a big goal for the year, but I also have small goals for one week, for one day, to feel good on court, to learn something from each practice. I think that’s really important at this stage because all small details matter so much in such a high level here,” she says.

    This year, Svitolina faced Serena Williams twice – at the Australian Open where the young Ukrainian led the world No. 1 by a set before falling in three, and in the semis in Cincinnati. She showcased what she is capable of, even though she is yet to pull off the upset.

    “Top players like her, they never let you play your game. So that’s what I learned from playing her or (Maria) Sharapova. It’s a good lesson for me,” says Svitolina.

    On what is the toughest thing about facing Williams, she explains: “I think because you never know how she’s going to play on that day. Even when you’re up in the game on her serve, she can serve three aces and you can’t really do anything. That’s why she’s the best player in the world. Even when you’re up she’s always fighting and finds the way to win.”

    Svitolina is one of four players aged 22 or younger in the top-20 in the WTA, with the 22-year-old Garbine Muguruza leading the pack up at No. 3 in the world, thanks to her stunning run to the Wimbledon final last July and her semis appearance at the WTA Finals.

    “I think Garbine has a good game and it’s not a big surprise that she made the Wimbledon final and she had such an amazing finish to the year,” says Svitolina. “I was expecting that she would do something like that. Of course I don’t really pay attention to this but for me it’s like ‘yeah, I also can do it’. I just need to improve.”

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