Elina Svitolina is looking to create some more happy memories in Rome as she begins her title defence on Tuesday against Croatian Petra Martic.
The reigning champion was given the royal treatment at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday, where she attended the Roma-Juve game, met Italian football legends Francesco Totti and Alessandro del Piero and was gifted a Roma jersey with her name on it.
Seeded No. 4 at the Foro Italico this week, Svitolina will be looking to jump-start her clay campaign having had indifferent results on the surface so far this season, losing in the Stuttgart quarter-finals and Madrid second round.
The Ukrainian’s triumph in Rome last year gave her one of the biggest titles of her career and she reflects fondly on how things unfolded for her, en route to an impressive win over Simona Halep in the final.
“Definitely all the tournament was really memorable. We played some tough matches from the first rounds. And then definitely, beating (Karolina) Pliskova in such a tiebreaker (11-9) in the second set, which was big,” the 23-year-old Svitolina told reporters in Rome.
“It was a great week, in general. Gave me lots of confidence going to Roland Garros. And, you know, I have great memories here. Eating pizza, definitely, after the final,” she added with a laugh.
That final against Halep, the current world No. 1, was one of four showdowns the pair had in 2017. Svitolina took three of them but fell to the Romanian in the French Open quarter-finals after holding match point and leading by a set and 5-1.
They are on opposite sides of the draw in Rome this week and could potentially face-off in the final again.
Halep couldn’t defend her title in Madrid last week, losing to Pliskova in the quarter-finals, is looking to bounce back in the Eternal City.
“I’m coming here with confidence that I’m playing okay on clay. I played final last year so I have good feelings. And we will see,” said Halep, who faces Naomi Osaka in her opening match on Wednesday.
“I cannot guarantee anything in tennis. So we will see, day by day.”