Svitolina sinks Kontaveit to return to Rome final

Rome: Holder Elina Svitolina dominated Anett Kontaveit 6-4, 6-3 in 74 minutes on Saturday to reach a second straight final at the Italian Open. The Ukrainian will play for the trophy on Sunday against the winner of the high-profile semifinal between Maria Sharapova and top seed Simona Halep. The first meeting between Svitolina and Kontaveit featured four breaks of serve in the first eight games, with the fourth-seeded defending champion snatching the early lead after 39 minutes. Svitolina moved to 3-1 in the second set, reached 5-3 with an ace and served out victory a game later on her second match point. “I’m very proud of myself already that I reached the final. You know, it was really tough, from the beginning, from the first match,” world number four Svitolina said. “I work for these kind of matches, I work on it every day. When my opponent tries to hit everything, I have an answer. “And when my opponent tries to play maybe a little bit more into court I can attack, so that’s an answer. — AFP