"WAR makes me stroger" Elina Svitolina says,Wimbledon 2023

Elina Svitolina says living through a time when her country is at war has made her stronger after pulling off one of the biggest wins of her career, defeating Iga Swiatek, the top seed, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2 in a dramatic 2hr 51min battle to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.

“I think war made me stronger and also made me mentally stronger,” Svitolina said. “Mentally I don’t take difficult situations as like a disaster, you know? There are worse things in life.”

Svitolina capitalised on Swiatek's errors - 41 of them unforced - to reach her third Grand Slam semi-final, and second at the All England Club after also reaching this stage in 2019.

She did not let herself be distracted by a delay after the first set while the Centre Court roof was closed because of rain, and she kept her nerve to serve out the victory at the first time of asking to record a memorable win that will lift her from 76th in the world rankings to most likely within the top 30.

"I have this motivation, like huge motivation, to come back to the top. But I think having a child, and war, made me a different person. I look at the things a bit differently," she said.

The result means Swiatek will lose her world No. 1 ranking if Aryna Sabalenka, who plays Madison Keys in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, reaches the final.

This has been a remarkable run for Svitolina, who has now taken out four former Grand Slam champions on her way to the semis.

The 17-time title winner has already faced a Belarusian at Wimbledon, beating Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round before the 19th seed was booed off court. And she said she would feel a responsibility on behalf of her country if she played Azarenka's countryman Sabalenka in a potential final.

According to Svitolina, it is unlikely that Monfils and Skaï will join her in London. “She’s with Gaël right now at home. I was FaceTiming with her just right after the match actually,” she said. “She was really distracted with her ice-cream, so I was not the priority there. She is still at this age when she doesn’t care if I win, if I lose. She’s just happy by herself or sometimes when I come back home she’s happy, too.”

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Sarah H

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