After defeating World No. 1 Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-7, 6-2, Ukrainian ace Elina Svitolina has maintained her remarkable post-pregnancy return by advancing to the semifinals of Wimbledon 2023.
At Wimbledon 2023, Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine delivered a sensational performance, advancing to the semifinals by virtue of her victory over Iga Swiatek, the number one player in the world. This remarkable accomplishment comes just three months after Svitolina returned from her leave of absence to care for her newborn child. Svitolina overcame with a score of 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), and 6-2 despite being behind in both of the first two sets of her match against the defending champion of both the US Open and the French Open. After advancing all the way to the semifinals earlier in 2019, Svitolina will now compete against Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in order to earn a spot in the title match that will take place on Saturday.
Swiatek established himself as the dominant player early on in the match, gaining a 5-3 lead in the process. In spite of the fact that it appeared as though Svitolina might not win the competition, the crowd continued to show their support for her throughout the match. Svitolina, on the other hand, started her comeback with a superb forehand winner, which let her to maintain her serve at 5-4.
Svitolina was able to immediately turn the match around by taking advantage of Swiatek’s poor serve. Svitolina brought the score even at 5-5 after Swiatek committed a double fault, which allowed her to do so. Swiatek attempted to reclaim control of the match, but he made an error with his forehand, which allowed Svitolina to hold serve and take a 6-5 lead. Under pressure, Svitolina’s backhand volley sailed wide, giving Swiatek the opportunity to win the set.
The match was resumed after a short break, and Swiatek jumped out to an early lead in the second set, taking a 3-1 advantage. However, she made 21 unforced errors when the score was tied 3-3, and Svitolina capitalised on those errors to take the lead 4-3 and eventually the lead 5-4. Swiatek managed to force a tie-break by holding his opponents to close scores.
Svitolina started the tie-break with a lead of 4-1, but Swiatek battled back and won the set thanks to his outstanding tennis. Svitolina gathered her composure and kept up her impressive performance despite the setback. After Swiatek made a backhand error, she was able to break her serve and take a 2-1 lead in the match. Svitolina was able to keep her composure even though she had to win the match on deuce after having a 40-0 lead and the fans shouted in excitement as she secured a double break to make the score 4-1.
Svitolina displayed her self-assurance and calm by establishing a commanding 5-1 lead by serving aces in consecutive games, giving her the advantage. Svitolina showed unflinching commitment throughout the match, whilst Swiatek battled to hold her serve, which resulted in Svitolina having the opportunity to serve for the victory. She ensured that they would win when Swiatek’s shot was successful in finding the back of the net, putting an end to the tense competition.