Elina Svitolina survives scare to set up Marta Kostyuk meeting

Svitolina dropped a fiercely contested first set but battled back as her previously impressive opponent began to fade.

The fourth seed takes on 15-year-old sensation Marta Kostyuk in the next round. Kostyuk became the youngest player to reach a Grand Slam third round since 1997 earlier on Wednesday.

Svitolina, 23, has never gone further than the third round at Melbourne Park.

"I thought I was going to melt today, it was not easy and I was struggling a bit," said the 23-year-old right-hander. "Hopefully I can recover. I can't wait to get into an ice bath."

Her first set performance against Siniakova clearly sounded a warning to Svitolina about letting kind of complacency creep into her head as she earned six break points but failed to convert a single one of them. World number 59 Siniakova, who also took Svitolina to three sets at the U.S. Open last year, really went for her shots, hitting 11 winners, and it was she who managed to get the upper hand in an arm-wrestle of a 50-minute set.

"I think she was playing great in the first set and I gave her this one break and this chance to dominate and play well," said Svitolina, who gave up the set with a miscued backhand. "It was my kind of mistake and maybe next time I'll be more focused."

Svitolina has backed up a fine 2017 with some impressive form already this year, not least her run to the title at the Brisbane International, and finally got her first break at the eighth attempt to go 2-0 up in the second set. Siniakova never gave up but was not the same threat after a seven-minute medical timeout in the second set and Svitolina claimed the victory with an unreturnable serve after two hours and 14 minutes.

"Of course winning in Brisbane and having such a good year in 2017, it's great," she said. "But, you know, it's a grand slam and every opponent is very tough and everyone deserves to win and be here. Yesterday, we saw there are no easy games here."