AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Top-seeded Elina Svitolina again relied on her “fighting spirit” Thursday, beating wild-card entry Katie Boulter 7-5, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the WTA tournament in Auckland, New Zealand.

Both players struggled on serve in windy conditions on center court. There were nine service breaks in the match, which the No. 13-ranked Svitolina clinched on her third match point.

“Katie is a great fighter so I was expecting a tough match,” Svitolina said. “She can strike the ball very well, as she did today, and it was not an easy match for us with the wind swirling around.”

Svitolina dropped her serve in the third game, immediately broke back but was broken again in the ninth. She won some exceptional clutch points to break Boulter again and take the first set.

Svitolina broke Boulter in the fourth game on the second set but immediately dropped serve. Both players had to work hard to hold in the sixth and seventh games before a series of three consecutive breaks which ended with Svitolina’s second singles win in 2026.

“It definitely was very important to me to fight for every point and try to find my way through,” Svitolina said. “I was just pleased with the way I could handle the tough games.”

Svitolina ended her 2025 season in September when she took a break from the tour for mental health reasons.

The Ukranian star won her opening match in Auckland 6-3, 6-1 over Varvara Gracheva.

“My fighting spirit, I would say it’s back,” Svitolina said after that match. “And I would say it’s nice to be refreshed and hungry again, to work hard, to face these tough moments.

“So the period of time at the end of the season that I took off, it really helped me to find again this spirit and fighting experience that I’ve been having for many years.”

The tournament in Auckland is an important tuneup event for the Australian Open, the season-opening major that starts in Melbourne on Jan. 18.

___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis