INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA - From a break down in the opening set, No.4 seed Elina Svitolina moved safely through to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Mona Barthel.
The champion in her last official tournament in Dubai two weeks ago, Svitolina ran her winning streak to five straight matches after coming from 3-1 down in the first set against the German World No.65, and improved her head-to-head record against Barthel to 4-1.
"She can be a very dangerous player, especially because she already had a match here and she kind of got used to [the conditions]," Svitolina said after the match.
"I just had to bring my game and be ready to react quickly to her shots, because she plays quite flat. I had to adjust to it and just build my game."
It was a notable victory for Svitolina in more ways than one as well, as she earned her 300th career WTA match win the victory.
.@ElinaSvitolina books her place in the @BNPPARIBASOPEN third round!
Defeats Barthel 6-4, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/hNkW6ItG5O— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2018
The German won three of the first four games of the match thanks to a strong start, as she staved off Svitolina in a multi-deuce game to begin the match.
However, the World No.4 quickly found her feet after facing the deficit, and won five of the last six games in the set in the first meeting on hard courts between the two in four years.
Despite serving at nearly 70 percent in the opening set, the German fell victim to scintillating returns from Svitolina on her second serve, and managed to win just three of 13 points played behind it over her first five service games.
In the second set, Barthel again stayed with Svitolina early, and saved three break points in a five-deuce third game to stay ahead on serve.
However, from 3-3 in the second set, the No.4 seed found another gear and broke serve twice en route to winning the last three games, saving two break points of her own in the eighth game.
Cool, calm, and collected!@ElinaSvitolina fights back from a break down to take the first set 6-4! #BNPPO18 pic.twitter.com/c9tbeYpJKW
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2018
She will next face Spain's Carla Suárez Navarro for the second time this season, after the No.27-seeded Spaniard defeated Hsieh Su-wei in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
The pair played in Svitolina's first match of 2018 at the Brisbane International, which she won 6-2, 6-4 en route to the Premier-level title.
"We played in Brisbane so I know what to expect from her," Svitolina said. "I know she builds her game pretty good with her forehand and tries to dominate with it plus her one-handed backhand. I will try to be ready for it and go from there."