ROME: Fourth seed Elina Svitolina dropped serve in the first set but steadied to beat former number one Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-4 in the Italian Open on Friday quarterfinal.
The Ukrainian dropped serve in the sixth game of the opening set but then broke her opponent twice to win the first set on the way to her sixth straight victory over the German, who dropped to 5-8 in the series.
Svitolina next faces the winner from Estonian Anett Kontaveit and second seed Caroline Wozniacki.
