In a stunning upset at Wimbledon, Elina Svitolina, the wildcard entry from Ukraine, shocked top seed Iga Swiatek to secure a place in the semi-finals.
Svitolina, who made a remarkable comeback to the tour in April after giving birth to her daughter in October, triumphed in a hard-fought battle with a scoreline of 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 as Swiatek struggled with her forehand.
Overwhelmed with emotions, the 28-year-old Svitolina exclaimed, “It’s an unbelievable feeling.” Her next challenge will be against Marketa Vondrousova, another unexpected contender, who caused her own upset by defeating American fourth seed Jessica Pegula. Vondrousova, the runner-up at the 2019 French Open, emerged victorious with a score of 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Svitolina’s unexpected and popular journey continues to captivate fans. She never anticipated reaching this stage of the tournament, even having to sell her tickets for a Harry Styles concert in Vienna on Sunday due to a scheduling conflict with her fourth-round match. However, after this exceptional performance, she might want to clear her schedule for the rest of the week.
The match began with Svitolina conceding a break in her opening service game due to a double fault. However, it was Swiatek who faced a major setback when her game unraveled while serving for the first set at 5-4. Three consecutive forehand errors, followed by a double fault, allowed Svitolina to break back easily. Swiatek’s mistakes continued, and she ultimately handed over the set to Svitolina with a wide backhand.
As rain clouds gathered above the All England Club, the Centre Court roof was closed during the interval. Despite the potential interruption to Svitolina’s momentum, she held her composure and immediately secured a love service hold. Swiatek briefly recovered, breaking Svitolina and taking a 3-1 lead. However, Svitolina’s tenacity from the baseline helped her regain the break and demonstrate that she is playing some of her best tennis since returning to the tour.
Swiatek, appearing in her first Wimbledon quarter-final, found her rhythm with her forehand once again. Svitolina’s momentary lapse in concentration, including a missed shot at the net when leading 40-0, allowed the Polish player to stage a comeback. Swiatek broke back and forced a tie-break, where she initially fell behind but managed to rally and take the match to a deciding set when Svitolina made an unforced forehand error.
However, Swiatek’s errors resurfaced in the third set, resulting in a double break in favor of Svitolina. Displaying nerves of steel, Svitolina served out the victory, sealing her triumph on the second match point when Swiatek’s forehand found the net, a recurring theme throughout the match. Overwhelmed by the moment, Svitolina dropped to her haunches in disbelief before blowing kisses to the adoring Centre Court crowd, who had been eagerly supporting her stunning run.