Elina Svitolina’s Rome dominance makes Andy Roddick compare her fearless new game to Roger Federer

Elina Svitolina is heading into the French Open with fresh confidence after winning her third Italian Open title in Rome. The Ukrainian star defeated Coco Gauff in the final and also beat Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina during the tournament.

Those wins pushed Svitolina back into the top 10 as she climbed to World No. 7. Former US Open champion Andy Roddick believes Svitolina’s recent success is not only about confidence. Speaking on his podcast Served with Andy Roddick, he explained that the 30-year-old has changed the way she plays tennis after returning to the tour as a mother.Roddick said Svitolina earlier built her game around consistency, defense, and smart shot-making.

According to him, she was tough to beat but often struggled against bigger hitters like Serena Williams, Ashleigh Barty, or Swiatek.Now, Roddick feels the Ukrainian is playing with far more aggression and freedom. He compared that change to what Roger Federer did late in his career after returning from injury in 2017.“She has completely changed her game,” Roddick said on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast. “Against Iga, she avoided long rallies and kept stepping inside the court.

She was taking control of points early.”

Andy Roddick compares Elina Svitolina’s new style to Roger Federer’s comeback adjustment

Roddick explained that Federer also changed his approach after returning from a six-month break in 2017. The Swiss legend started playing more attacking tennis, took bigger swings on returns, and used his larger racket more aggressively.The former world No. 1 believes Svitolina has made a similar shift in mindset.Roddick said Svitolina may have realized her old playing style was not enough to win a Grand Slam title against today’s powerful players like Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, and Coco Gauff.“She comes back and sees the power and athleticism around the tour,” Roddick said. “Maybe she thought, ‘What worked before is not going to work now.’”Svitolina’s clay-court form has already made many fans see her as a serious threat for Roland Garros. Even though she has reached five French Open quarter-finals, she has never made the semi-finals.

Elina Svitolina’s French Open quarter-final record

Her closest chance came in 2017 when she won the first set against Simona Halep before losing in three sets to the eventual champion.Roddick also praised the recent success of Ukrainian women’s tennis. Along with Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk has also impressed during the clay season. Ukrainian women have now won the last three WTA clay titles, making them one of the biggest stories heading into the French Open.