Elina Svitolina has dedicated her stunning Wimbledon quarter-final upset of World No.1 Iga Swiatek to the people in her war-torn homeland of Ukraine. Just nine months after giving birth to her first child and three months after returning to the court, Svitolina triumphed 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 in a little under three hours to keep her fairytale run alive.
Fuelled by emotion and roared on by a raucous Centre Court crowd, Svitolina recovered from blowing 4-1 and 5-3 leads in the second set tiebreak to sweep away the reigning US and French Open champion. In a rousing post-match speech, Svitolina said the devastating war in her homeland had made her stronger, with the motivation of representing Ukraine proving a powerful factor.
I think war (Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) made me stronger,” she said. “Mentally I don’t take difficult situations as like a disaster. There are worse things in life. I’m just more calm.
“I think having a child, and war, made me a different person. I look at the things a bit differently.” Svitolia now faces a semi-final showdown against Czech Marketa Vondrousova, who stunned fourth seed Jessica Pegula 6-4 2-6 6-4 after coming from 1-4 down in the final set.
