Friday 27 / December / 2024
London: The Ukrainian wild card Elina Svitolina produced a five-star performance on Centre Court to upset World No.1 Iga Swiatek on Tuesday at the ongoing Wimbledon 2023 to move into her third career Grand Slam semifinal.
It took two hours and 50 minutes for Svitolina to wrap up a 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2 triumph against the World No.1. Next Svitolina will face Czech Marketa Vondrousova, who upset No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula on No. 1 Court, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
In the second set, the Pole had a 3-1 advantage, but Svitolina wouldn't let her win. At 5-6, Swiatek's ace prompted a tie-break, which she won to send the match to a verdict.
But for Swiatek, the reprieve was only momentary. Svitolina broke the game in games three and five before serving out for a 6-2 victory.
A wildcard at Wimbledon this year, Svitolina has enjoyed a fantastic run. She defeated Venus Williams, No. 28 seed Elise Mertens, former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, and No. 19 seed Victoria Azarenka on her way to the quarterfinals after missing the majority of the previous season due to maternity leave.
Svitolina is the third wild card to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, but the first to do it in more than ten years. She is competing in her second Grand Slam tournament since she started playing tennis again in April after the birth of her daughter in October.
The Ukrainian shares that distinction with Germany's Sabine Lisicki (2011) and China's Zheng Jie (2008). Svitolina was outside the main-draw cutoff at the Wimbledon entry deadline in May despite entering Wimbledon ranked No. 76, in part because of a run to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros last month.
