Iga Swiatek reveals what she told Elina Svitolina at the net after their Wimbledon match
Iga Swiatek’s hopes of winning a maiden Wimbledon title were ended by Elina Svitolina on Tuesday, but after the match the Pole admitted it would be “pretty amazing” if her conqueror goes on to win the trophy.
The back story to Svitolina’s Wimbledon run is incredible as she only returned to professional tennis in May following the birth of her first child in October last year while away from tennis, her homeland Ukraine remains under Russian occupation.
But the 28-year-old has put all of that to one side to pull off remarkable win after remarkable win at this year’s grass-court Grand Slam as she first defeated former world No 1 and seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams in the opening round.
In the third round she beat 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin and followed it up with a titanic three-set win over two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round.
She claimed the scalp of a fourth Grand Slam title in the quarter-final as she defeated four-time major winner Swiatek 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 to reach the semi-final at Wimbledon for the second time in her career after 2019.
While disappointed with the loss, Swiatek is hoping Svitolina goes all the way – something that she told the Ukrainian during the post-match handshake.
“I think overall, looking at her career, having Grand Slam title would be pretty amazing for her. She’s coming back after becoming a mother,” the 22-year-old said.
“I think, yeah, I’ll root for her, especially because we like each other as people. I told her on the net that I hope she win this tournament.
“You know how it is in tennis: it’s tough to win a Grand Slam. I know that for sure she wants it really bad. So I will be rooting for her.”
Reigning French Open and US Open champion Swiatek’s game also misfired in the fourth round as she saved match points against Belinda Bencic before turning things around.
On Tuesday her forehand in particular went missing.
“For sure it wasn’t as good as on previous matches,” she said. “I didn’t feel today like I could play my best game. But I gave my all in everything that I could do today, if you know what I mean.
“My forehand wasn’t the best. I’ll still work on it. But honestly, it’s hard for me to, like, point one thing what failed exactly. I think Elina was just overall playing aggressively and giving it all in every shot.
“I felt like she’s playing differently than before, than when we played on clay a couple years back. So for sure I played some mistakes that I shouldn’t do. That’s why I lost. But she also put pressure on me, I think.”
