Top-seeded Wimbledon is over for Iga Swiatek. Jessica Pegula is American as well.
Elina Svitolina, a wild card from Ukraine, defeated top-seeded Swiatek on Centre Court on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals at the All England Club for the second time in four years. Svitolina had given birth to her baby in October of last year and had only just returned to the tour.
Pegula’s dreams of making it to the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament were dashed after the fourth seed failed to win another point against left-handed Czech player Marketa Vondrousova, who in 2019 advanced to the French Open final, despite holding a 4-1 lead in the final set.
Svitolina, 28, was behind 4-2 in the first set and was having trouble serving in the wind as Swiatek pulled up 5-3. However, after dropping the next two sets, Svitolina’s fortunes quickly turned. She won 16 of the next 18 points to take the first set, leaving Swiatek speechless as they took a 20-minute break to shut the roof.
It’s difficult for me to specifically single out one element that failed, Swiatek said. “I think Elina was just playing aggressively overall and giving it her all in every shot.”
The break allowed Swiatek time to reconsider her strategy, and the four-time major winner battled valiantly to prevail in the second-set tiebreak thanks to a misplaced backhand by Svitolina.
To stop Swiatek’s 14-match winning run, Svitolina persevered as she broke for a 2-1 advantage in the fourth set and then dominated the rest of the way.
Svitolina said during her on-court interview, “I’m going to have a beer first, probably.” If someone had told me before the competition that I would get to the semifinals and defeat the world No. 1, I would have thought them insane.
According to Svitolina, she now plays for more significant reasons. In honour of her October-born daughter Ska. For her own Ukraine, where a conflict that started when Russia invaded in February 2022 still rages today.
“War made me stronger and also made me mentally stronger,” Svitolina said. Mentally, I don’t see challenging circumstances as a catastrophe, you know? In life, there are worse things. Simply said, I’m calmer.Naturally, I want to prevail. I am really motivated to return to the top for this reason. However, I believe that having a kid and the war changed who I am. I approach things quite differently.
She had defeated the No. 1 player in the world seven times in her career, which is second only to Venus Williams’ (15) record among current players.
Svitolina will next play Vondrousova after becoming only the third woman to beat four past major winners in a Grand Slam match.
The No. 76-ranked Svitolina, who started Wimbledon with 100-1 odds to win, said, “I’m just going to enjoy tonight and then get some treatment, get some massage, much needed, and then just regroup and be ready for the next big battle.”
By winning five consecutive games to end the match against Pegula in the third set, Vondrousova advanced to the semifinals.
“All I’m trying to do is play every game. It may alter rather fast, according to Vondrousova. “She really improved in the second set. Today, she pushed me.
Pegula is now 0-6 in quarterfinals of Grand Slams. The 29-year-old American was making her Wimbledon debut at this point, and her Tuesday continued to go south when she and No. 2 seeds in doubles, Coco Gauff, were defeated by Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-3 in the third round.
Prior to the competition at the All England Club, Vondrousova has only won four matches on grass; but, during the previous eight days, she has won five straight wins on the surface.
“Second round was where I performed best here. It’s incredible. Now, I really like grass,” Vondrousova said.
This year’s Wimbledon competition saw Vondrousova defeat a seeded opponent for the fourth time. In the second round, she defeated No. 12 Veronika Kudermetova; in the third round, No. 20 Donna Vekic; and in the fourth round, No. 32 Marie Bouzkova.
When play was halted in order to shut the roof over No. 1 Court because rain was forecast, Pegula was up 3-1 in the third set. In the next game, Pegula kept her serve and led 4-1 until Vondrousova grabbed control.
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