PARIS (Reuters)

Elina Svitolina summoned up her Ukrainian fighting spirit to battle from the brink of defeat and beat last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini 4-6 7-6(6) 6-1 to book a place in the French Open quarter-finals after an entertaining match on Sunday.

Victory came the hard way for Svitolina, who saved three match points in the second set to force a decider in which she raised her level to earn a last-eight encounter with defending champion Iga Swiatek, who later beat Elena Rybakina.

“I still can’t believe this match finished my way, my head is still in it, in a big battle,” said 30-year-old Ukrainian Svitolina, who shed tears of joy after the win.

“Jasmine was playing really well and it was really tough. In the end, I’m happy I could stay composed and fight till the very end. Here I am in the next round.

“I had to be aggressive, stay focused on my gameplan and take small opportunities to win the second set. It was one or two points that decided it and I’m pleased I could win it. In the third set I played really well to close the match.”

Fourth-seeded Paolini twice swapped breaks with Svitolina before holding to love in the ninth game of the match and pouncing to claim the opening set with a scorching forehand winner in the next game.

The diminutive Italian grabbed a 3-1 lead in the second set but 13th seed Svitolina did not let her challenge fade on Court Philippe Chatrier as she recovered two breaks and saved two match points to make it 5-5 before forcing a tiebreak.

The 29-year-old Paolini responded bravely after going 4-1 down and wasted another match point as Svitolina went on to level the contest and pump her fists to loud cheers, before using the momentum to get her nose in front in the decider.

Svitolina pulled away by winning four games in a row before her opponent got on the board and she promptly completed the victory with a searing backhand winner to reach the quarter-finals of Roland Garros for a fifth time.

The plight of her war-torn country following Russia’s 2022 invasion of its neighbour was firmly on Svitolina’s mind as she reflected on her battling victory in a press conference later, saying she had to live with difficult news almost daily.

“The last few months have been really tough for Ukrainian people and the last few weeks have been awful,” said Svitolina, who has raised $1 million for her people in the last few years.

“It’s something that all Ukrainians live with on a daily basis, with the bad news. So when I’m on the court, I’m fully focused on my job, on my tennis, and try to get these wins to keep the Ukrainian flag flying for my country.

“That’s what motivates me to keep pushing, keep winning, keep playing tennis in general. It’s heavy, but in the same way it’s a huge motivation for me.”