Ukraine’s Svitolina shocks Swiatek to reach Wimbledon semifinals

Three months after returning from maternity leave, Elina Svitolina has reached the Wimbledon semifinals by beating top-ranked Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2.

Svitolina, who returned to the tour in April after giving birth to her daughter in October, was down 4-2 in the opening set and struggled to get her serve going in blustery conditions on Centre Court.

Swiatek moved into a 5-3 lead, but the momentum suddenly swung Svitolina’s way in the ninth game. From 0-30 down on her serve, she went on to win 16 of the next 18 points to bag the first set and stun Swiatek.

Soak it in, @ElinaSvitolina 🙌#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/nJpjsyaPSn

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2023

That sequence included breaking Swiatek’s serve twice in succession with the Polish top seed surrendering the first of those to love with a double fault.

After Swiatek guided a backhand volley into the tramlines to hand Svitolina the set, the players had to endure a 20-minute break as the roof was closed to shut out the dark clouds hovering over Centre Court.

That interlude gave Swiatek a chance to re-evaluate her tactics, and she came back to break Svitolina for a 2-1 lead in the second set.

The top seed’s 28-year-old rival, however, kept breathing down her neck and made it all square at 3-3 by pounding some ferocious ground strokes from the baseline.

Swiatek earned two more break points in the ninth game, but once those went begging, neither player could break the deadlock, and they headed into the tie-break.

Svitolina made a furious start to jump into a 4-2 lead, but Swiatek, who saved two match points to beat Belinda Bencic in the previous round, refused to panic and kept faith with her fearsome forehand to rattle her rival.

A backhand error handed Swiatek the set, and many thought the world number one would now stamp her authority on the contest and race away with the decider.

But having already beaten three Grand Slam champions in the run-up to her showdown with Swiatek, Svitolina had an appetite for beating more celebrated opponents, and she was not going to let the Pole stand in her way as she targeted a place in the Wimbledon semifinals for the second time in four years.

Svitolina broke for a 2-1 lead and then blew a hole in the aura around Swiatek, who was riding a 14-match winning streak, which included her run to a third French Open title, after grabbing a double break two games later.

There was no coming back for Swiatek, and a forehand into the net handed Svitolina a remarkable win.

“At the beginning of the tournament if someone would tell me that I will be in the semifinal and beating world number one, I would just say that they’re crazy,” Svitolina said on court after the match.

Grand Slam champions @ElinaSvitolina has defeated en route to the semifinal:

Quarterfinal: Iga Swiatek
Round of 16: Victoria Azarenka
Round 3: Sofia Kenin
Round 1: Venus Williams#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/LiWDec7oiv

— wta (@WTA) July 11, 2023

Meanwhile, Marketa Vondrousova won five straight games in the final set to beat fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

“I’m just trying to stay in every game. It can change pretty quickly,” the Czech winner said. “She got so much better in the second set. She was pushing me today.”

Vondrousova had won only four matches on grass heading into the tournament at the All England Club. But she has won five in a row on the surface over the past eight days.

“My best result here was second round. It’s amazing. I’m just loving grass now,” Vondrousova said.