Svitolina beats the best Swiatek and reaches the semifinals of Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England –

The last time Elina Svitolina was a Grand Slam semifinalist – twice, in fact, in 2019 – she was aiming for the usual trappings of success in professional sports: trophies, money, fame, etc.

Now Svitolina plays for more important reasons. For her daughter Skai, who was born in October. For her country, Ukraine, where a war that began with the Russian invasion in February 2022 continues to this day.

And Svitolina firmly believes that those very different factors actually influence the way she swings a racket and the way she handles key moments on a tennis court. Enough so that she is one of the last four women remaining at Wimbledon after extending her streak of surprise wins over major champions with a 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2 victory against No. 1 Iga Swiatek. Tuesday.

“War has made me stronger and mentally stronger as well. Mentally, I don’t view difficult situations as a disaster, you know? There are worse things in life. I’m just calmer,” says 28-year-old Svitolina, who was once ranked No. 3 and is now No. 76 after taking time off to start a family with her husband, tennis player Gael Monfils.

She only returned to the tour three months ago.

“Because I’ve just started playing again, I have other pressures too,” Svitolina said after kneeling down and covering her face with her hands as Swiatek missed a final forehand on Center Court. “Of course I want to win. I have this motivation, like a huge motivation, to get back on top. But I think having a child – and war – has made me a different person. I look a little different anyway against things.”

She received a wild card from the All England Club to take the field and will now have to field another unseeded player, 42nd ranked Marketa Vondrousova, for a berth in Saturday’s final.

2019 French Open runner-up Vondrousova defeated fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to take the last five games after being one point from a 5-1 deficit in the last set at No. 1 Court. Pegula fell to 0-6 in major quarter-finals.

“I don’t know what happened,” said left-hander Vondrousova.

Both of Tuesday’s women’s games were interrupted when it started to rain and the roofs of the courts were closed so that play could continue. Swiatek used the break to chat animatedly with her sports psychologist, who was sitting in the stands, then went to an off-field lounge to huddle with her coach.

None of that helped her figure out what was wrong with her spin-heavy forehand, which accounted for 57 total errors – 28 unforced, 29 forced – and 22 winners.

Swiatek, who claimed her fourth Grand Slam title at the French Open last month, felt the change in the way Svitolina hit balls over the center court net. That included a stretch where Svitolina won 20 of 22 points on a stretch that spanned the end of the first set and the beginning of the second.

“She played with more freedom and more guts. Sometimes she just let go of her hand,” Swiatek said, mimicking a forehand, “and she played very, very fast.

Novak Djokovic reached his 46th Slam semifinal—tying Roger Federer’s men’s record—by beating No. 7 Andrey Rublev 4–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–3, then against No. 8 Jannik Sinner. Djokovic is aiming for a fifth straight championship at Wimbledon and an eighth overall – tally that would also tie Federer – and his 24th career Grand Slam trophy.

Sinner made it to his first major semifinal by knocking out Roman Safiullin 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

“It means a lot to me,” said Sinner. “We put a lot of work into it – many, many hours off the track, a lot of sacrifices – for this moment.”

Svitolina certainly didn’t expect to be so far into the two weeks. She originally didn’t even plan to get back into action after giving birth until about now. But she and Monfils started training together on January 2 and Svitolina’s progress was so great that she changed her timeline.

Good call.

She added the win against Swiatek to those against seven-time main champion Venus Williams in the first round, 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin in the third and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in the fourth.

There is certainly a sense of urgency to all of this.

“There are fewer years ahead of me than behind me. I have to go for it. I have no more time to lose. I don’t know how many years I will play,” said Svitolina. “You practice for these moments, for these big moments.”

And for the kind of moments that come after she leaves court.

On Tuesday, Svitolina FaceTimed Skai, who is at home in Monte Carlo with Monfils and the new grandparents.

“She was really distracted with her ice cream, so I wasn’t the priority there,” Svitolina said. “She’s still at this age where she doesn’t care if I win or lose.”

Of course there are those who do care. A lot of.

Svitolina’s phone has been inundated with messages of support from her native country, and she has seen videos there of children watching her matches.

“This really melts my heart when I see this,” she said. “Just happy that I could bring a little happiness to the people of Ukraine.”