{"id":57931,"date":"2023-07-11T14:33:44","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T18:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=57931"},"modified":"2023-07-11T14:33:44","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T18:33:44","slug":"elina-svitolina-stuns-iga-swiatek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2023\/07\/11\/elina-svitolina-stuns-iga-swiatek\/","title":{"rendered":"Elina Svitolina Stuns Iga Swiatek to Continue Wimbledon Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Saturday, Ska\u00ef Monfils will turn nine months old. And if Elina Svitolina wins one more match, it will be the same day that Ska\u00ef’s mom competes in the Wimbledon<\/a> ladies’ final.<\/p>\n

Already one of the stories of the tournament, Svitolina secured her place in the semifinals by conquering world No. 1 Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2. Her upset over the sport’s best player would have been monumental under any circumstances. To consider that the former world No. 3 is back on court after giving birth last April and while remaining so deeply affected<\/a> by the on-going war besieging her home country of Ukraine, the underdog victory carries that much more significance.<\/p>\n

Then again, everything about Svitolina’s journey over the past six weeks has been nothing short of incredible. At the French Open<\/a>, she reached the quarter-finals of her first Grand Slam since becoming a mom. Now, at the All-England Club, she has knocked off four Major winners–Venus Williams, Sofia Kenin, Victoria Azarenka and Swiatek–along the way to her third career Slam semifinal.<\/p>\n

Against Swiatek, Svitolina showed off her conditioning, mental toughness and perseverance. Staring down a 3-5 and 0-30 deficit in the first round while struggling with her serve amidst blustery conditions, the 28-year-old rallied back to win 16 of the next 18 points to stun her heavily favored opponent.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>