Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina defeats Belarusian rival to qualify for Wimbledon quarter-final
Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, one of the Grand Slam tournaments, forcing out the "neutral" Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round of the competition.
Source: Suspilne Sport
Epic. Elina ✨@ElinaSvitolina outlasts Victoria Azarenka in a rollercoaster three-set thriller to progress to the quarter-finals 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(9) 👏#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/vikVFGuTFj
Advertisement:— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2023
Details: This was the sixth time Svitolina and Azarenka have met face to face – all five of their previous matches were won by the Belarusian player. Svitolina said before the match that she realised how big a match it was, describing it as a "challenge".
The fourth-round Wimbledon match between Svitolina and Azarenka lasted almost three hours. Svitolina snatched victory on the tie-break in the decisive game.
In the first set, Azarenka played more confidently and dominated the court. She made two breaks, did not lose a single serve and won the set 6-2.
In the second set, Svitolina immediately lost her serve (0-2), but was able to return to the match with a break back – 2-2. After that, Svitolina gradually began to gain the advantage, and with a score of 4-3 to her, the Ukrainian player almost made a break. But in the end she was able to take her opponent's serve with a score of 5-4, and Svitolina won the second set 6-4.
The start of the third set belonged to Svitolina, who was leading 3-0 with a break. But Azarenka immediately followed up with a considerable advantage in three games – 3-3. The match ended up going to a tie-break with a score of 6-6.
On the tie-break in the decisive set, Svitolina was down 4-7, but was able to win four points, taking the score to 8-7. Svitolina then earned the first match point (9-8), and from the second match point ended the game with an ace, winning 11-9.
This is the second time Svitolina has advanced to the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Her best result was reaching the tournament’s semi-finals.
Svitolina's next opponent will be the world No. 1, Poland’s Iga Świątek.
Her results at Wimbledon will place Svitolina among the top 40 players in the world.
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