Sports

Svitolina beats Kontaveit, enters Final

AP

Defending champion Elina Svitolina returned to the Italian Open final with a comfortable 6-4, 6-3 win over 26th-ranked Anna Kontaveit on Saturday.

Aiming for the third title defence in her career, Svitolina will face either top-ranked Simona Halep or three-time Rome champion Maria Sharapova in Sunday's championship match on the red clay of the Foro Italico.

"I'm happy with the way I handled today under pressure and all this week," Svitolina said. "I know there is one match to go and I will give it my best shot tomorrow."

The fourth-ranked Svitolina produced only 18 winners to Kontaveit's 24 but also committed fewer unforced errors - 13 to 20 - in a match that lasted 74 minutes.

"I was really solid with my performance and I was really proud that I could stay consistent for the entire match," Svitolina said.

Kontaveit, an Estonian, could still be pleased with a week that saw her eliminate four established players: 12th-seeded CoCo Vandeweghe, two-time finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova, 1999 champion Venus Williams and second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki.

"She was really tough today and played great," Kontaveit said.