Elina Svitolina’s fairytale run at Wimbledon continues, with the Ukrainian wildcard booking a place in the semi-finals after an upset win over world number one Iga Swiatek.
Key points:
- Jessica Pegula is now 0/6 in grand slam quarter-finals
- Elina Svitolina has only been back on tour for three months
- Svitolina will play Marketa Vondrousova in the semi-finals
Svitolina, who is on the comeback after giving birth to her and French star Gael Monfils’s first child, took the match 7-5, 6-7 (7/5), 6-2 with a display of power-hitting that Swiatek could not match.
It’s the second time Svitolina has made it this far at Wimbledon but eight months ago she gave birth and only made it back on to the tour in April.
It’s been a whirlwind rise for the Ukrainian, who last came this far in 2019 before being humbled by eventual champion Simona Halep.
Back then she was seeded eighth; this time she has become the first women’s wildcard to make it this far since Germany’s Sabine Lisicki did so in 2011.
While controversy has surrounded Svitolina since the French Open and again at Wimbledon over her stance of not shaking hands with Russian or Belarusian players due to the invasion of Ukraine, this win was anything but controversial and featured Svitolina at her best.
After being down for most of the opening set, Svitolina clicked into gear and rattled off 16 of 18 points from 5-3 down to take the set 7-5.
Swiatek looked shocked.
The end of the set saw officials close the roof due to rain. Even as the conditions changed, Svitolina kept her high level up before Swiatek took the match to a deciding set after a tight second set tiebreak.
But surprisingly, it was Svitolina who remained playing at the highest level in the third set as her heavy groundstrokes drew errors from an increasingly frustrated Swiatek.
Conversely, Svitolina nailed nearly half her winners for the match in the final set.
When she took the match as a Swiatek forehand missed, Svitolina’s disbelief was met with a standing ovation.
“I don’t know what is happening right now,” Svitolina said.
“It is really unbelievable.
“I am really, really happy I got this chance to play here again and playing this great match.”
She then paid tribute to Swiatek, who has been a big supporter of Ukraine and their players during Russia’s invasion.
“It was not easy to play today against Iga, she is always fighting and today was an unbelievable match.
“Iga is not only a great champion she is also an unbelievable person. She was one of the first ones who helped Ukrainian people and was a huge help for Ukraine.”
As for her plans ahead of what will be her third chance to make a grand slam final, Svitolina said she would do all the usual things like rehab and practice, but first wanted to celebrate.
“First of all I’m gonna have a beer,” she said.
“Just going to enjoy that with my team and … you know at the beginning of the tournament if someone told me I would be beating the number one and be in the semi-final I would say ‘they are crazy'”.
Unseeded opponent
Her opponent in the semis will be Czech star Marketa Vondrousova, who has also made it this far unseeded.
The 2019 French Open finalist has battled many injuries since then and has enjoyed a fine return to form, upsetting American third seed Jessica Pegula as she rattled off five straight games to win their quarter-final 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Vondrousova was shellshocked at the way she won.
“I don’t know what happened I was 1-4 down, this is an amazing feeling.”
Pegula is now 0-6 in grand slam quarter-finals. The 29-year-old American was playing at this stage at Wimbledon for the first time.
Vondrousova had won only four matches on grass heading into the tournament at the All England Club, but she has won five in a row on the surface over the last eight days.
“My best result here was second round. It’s amazing. I’m just loving grass now,” Vondrousova said.
The victory for Vondrousova is her fourth over a seeded player at this year’s Wimbledon.
She beat 12th seed Veronika Kudermetova in the second round, 20th seed Donna Vekic in the third round and 32nd seed Marie Bouzkova in the fourth round.
ABC/AP