Six Years in the Making: Elina Svitolina Outlasts Aryna Sabalenka in Three Sets to Reach the WTA Finals Semifinals

Some wins take a set. Some take a match. This one took six years.

Elina Svitolina beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 on Friday at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells, California, earning a spot in the semifinals and ending the season of one of the most powerful players in the sport. It was Svitolina's first victory over Sabalenka in six years.

The BBC called it a disappointing end to the year for Sabalenka, the former world No. 1. For Svitolina, it was a night of patience rewarded.

Svitolina took the first set 6-3, but Sabalenka, who reached the final of this event a year ago, answered by taking the second set 6-3. When Sabalenka broke early in the third, it looked as though her power game had finally found its rhythm.

Then it came apart. Sabalenka's errors piled up, and she finished the match with 35 of them, according to the Associated Press. Svitolina kept the ball in play, made Sabalenka hit one more shot, and took control of the final set.

Tennis Majors described Sabalenka as losing her nerve once again in a big moment. Even so, she did not go quietly. Svitolina served for the match at 5-1 and needed four match points to finish the job. Sabalenka saved two of them, one with a forehand that clipped the line, before Svitolina finally closed it out.

As she does with all Russian and Belarusian opponents, Svitolina, who is Ukrainian, did not shake hands with Sabalenka, who is from Belarus, at the end of the match, the AP reported.

It is a reminder that some contests carry weight beyond the scoreboard. Svitolina has played through years in which her homeland has been at war, and she has done it with a steady, quiet dignity on the court. Whatever one thinks about the handshake question, she has never made a spectacle of it. She simply plays, wins or loses, and walks to her chair.

Svitolina now faces Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova on Saturday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Noskova was the first player into the semifinals, by beating Coco Gauff, according to ESPN.

In the other semifinal, Mirra Andreeva will take on American Jessica Pegula. Sky Sports reported that Andreeva overwhelmed Diana Shnaider on the same night Svitolina knocked out Sabalenka. Pegula had already booked her place, giving American fans a reason to stay up late for Saturday's matches.

I love a win like this because it is built on the things that do not show up on the highlight reel. Sabalenka hits the ball harder than almost anyone in the world. Svitolina beat her by refusing to give her anything for free. She kept her head when the second set got away from her, and she kept her head when she fell behind early in the third. That is mental toughness, and it is something every young athlete can learn from.

There is a lesson in Sabalenka's night too. Talent opens doors, but composure keeps you in the room. Thirty-five errors in a match of this size tells you she was pressing, and anyone who has played a sport knows that feeling. She will be back, and she will be dangerous next season. Champions are often made by the losses that sting the most, and how she answers this one over the winter will say a great deal about the year ahead.

For now, the spotlight belongs to Svitolina. She has spent six years trying to solve this matchup, and on Friday she solved it the old-fashioned way, one hard-earned point at a time. Next up is a Wimbledon champion, and a place in the final is on the line. If Friday was any guide, Svitolina will not be the one who blinks first.