Svitolina masters Keys to unlock passage to last eight

MELBOURNE (Reuters): Elina Svitolina recovered after dropping the second set to secure a place in the Australian Open quarter-finals with a 6-2 1-6 6-1 victory over American Madison Keys on Monday.

The sixth seed, who has claimed 13 tour titles including at last year’s WTA Finals in Singapore, has struggled to make an impact at the Grand Slams but the Ukrainian is now hoping to progress beyond the last eight at a major for the first time.

“(Singapore) gave me a huge boost of confidence, so I don’t think about the other, the past anymore,” the 24-year-old Svitolina, who has reached two quarter-finals in Melbourne to go with two more at the French Open, told reporters.

“I only look forward. I look for next challenge. I try to win as many matches as I can, as many titles as I can, and this is the goal for the year.”

Reaching the last four will be a tough task, however, with Svitolina next meeting US Open champion Naomi Osaka after the Japanese fourth seed defeated Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 4-6 6-3 6-4 in their fourth round encounter.

Svitolina and Osaka have met five times before with the Ukrainian holding a 3-2 lead in their head-to-head rivalry.