Elina Svitolina backed to complete Cinderella story

James Richardson 12 Jul 2023 10:23 PM

Elina Svitolina celebrates victory over Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon.

Former British No 1 Laura Robson has backed Elina Svitolina to complete a Wimbledon fairy tale this weekend.

Robson believes the fighting spirit that Svitolina has shown throughout the tournament has put her in a position to claim the most-coveted prize in tennis.

She also feels that Svitolina has played herself into the form of her life during a battling run to the last four.

“I think you could sum up her whole week and a half so far as being an absolute battle,” Robson said on Eurosport.

“She somehow managed to get herself in this position by just competing so well.

“She is moving better than ever, and I just can’t believe it’s been only nine months since she had her baby only a couple of months since she came back from maternity leave. I think that is a Cinderella story.”

Svitolina is out to reach her first Grand Slam final when she faces 2019 French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova a tricky southpaw who will have her own Wimbledon dreams.

“[Vondrousova] is one of my favourite players to watch. She’s so crafty,” said Robson.

“She’s a fellow lefty, so I’m a little bit biased.

“I love a lefty on the grass courts where they’re able to swing it out wide, and she uses the forehand so well, but if I had to pick who’s going to come through that first semi-final, I would say Elina.”

Robson also feels that the other women’s semi-final is also a close call but Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur.

“[Jabeur] came through against Rybakina in such a fine fashion,” Robson added.

“She was super crafty, but she played less variation than you usually see from her because she knew she had to play more aggressive.

“She had to be a bit more consistent from the baseline and just wait it out, wait for the right opportunity to come forward to do something different. And she battled.

“She was probably more intense than I’ve ever seen her on the court, and that started already a couple of days ago.

“You could just see the difference in her mentality ahead of this one. And she’s got another big, big hitter [next].

“[Sabalenka] had an easy win against Madison Keys,” said Robson.

“Relatively easy, wasn’t too tested other than a small dip in the second set.

“I think if I had to pick one, I’d have to go with the heavy hitter. I think I’m going to go Sabalenka here.

“I just feel like Ons won’t be able to play her game style with that much pace coming onto her racquet.”