In one of the best matches of the Wimbledon championships, Elina Svitolina achieved myriad breakthroughs to reach her second straight Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Svitolina, less than nine months after giving birth to daughter Skaï, recovered from 2-6 0-2 down, and 4-7 in the final-set tiebreak, to beat Victoria Azarenka for the first time.
She was previously 0-5 in matches against the Belarusian, having lost 6-0 6-2 in their most recent meeting at Australian Open 2022.
Her progress is astonishing, given she only returned to competition in April, and was unranked at the time. But she has won 15 of her past 19 matches, including four at Wimbledon – as a wildcard entry – against a succession of proven opponents in Venus Williams, Elise Mertens, Sofia Kenin and Azarenka.
Earlier in this purple patch, she won the WTA title in Strasbourg, then advanced to the Roland Garros quarterfinals.
She is projected to rise to No.39 with this run, and sits at 25th in the live points race to the WTA Finals.
Into a 10th Grand Slam quarterfinal, this is just the second time she has reached this stage at consecutive majors.
“After giving birth to our daughter, this is the second-happiest moment in my life,” said Svitolina, to rapturous cheers on No.1 Court.
“In January, when I was going to start playing again, I didn’t think I would make quarterfinal back-to-back on both Slams, and really didn’t think, on the grass, I would play that good.
“Just really enjoying this chance, really thankful for this chance to get to play here. It’s a really unbelievable feeling.”
The crowd support for Svitolina in this match was electrifying, and as the match reached a thrilling crescendo in the third-set tiebreak, she rose to the occasion. “I think (it was) one of the best atmospheres that I ever played,” the 28-year-old said.
There was a dazzling passing-shot winner, forceful groundstrokes, daring ventures to the net, and finally, an ace out wide on match point.
From the commentary booth, tennis legend Martina Navratilova said Svitolina was a deserving victor. “Svitolina played the braver tennis in the whole third set, particularly in the closing stages,” observed the nine-time Wimbledon champion.
This is a notable shift in Svitolina’s comeback story.
While she may have reached 10 major quarterfinals, including semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019, her Grand Slam story has more often been one of missed opportunities.
On the cusp of her first major semifinal at Australian Open 2018, she was upstaged by the unseeded Mertens. One win away from her first French semifinal in a wide-open Roland Garros 2020 draw, she lost in straight sets to 131st-ranked qualifier Nadia Podoroska. She was pipped in the third set of the 2021 US Open quarterfinals by inexperienced teenager Leylah Fernandez, then ranked No.73.
There have also been surprising losses to Mihaela Buzarnescu, Tatjana Maria and Magda Linette, all players ranked outside the top 30 while Svitolina was entrenched in the top 10.
Yet Svitolina appears a player transformed, and would not be the first mother to return to elite-level competition with renewed perspective. Time away from tennis provided an opportunity to come back with updated goals, plus a new approach.
As a Ukrainian, she is also playing with a more significant purpose.
“Since the comeback, I try to look a bit differently,” she explained.
“I have a new team with me. Just trying to bring something new into my game. Physically I'm feeling quite good… I'm feeling good and comfortable on the baseline. I changed the racquet. I changed the string.
“I don't try to be the same as I was before. Okay, I reached No.3 in the world, good results. But right now it's a new chapter for me. I want to bring something new.
“I know that a lot of people back home watching, supporting me. I feel responsibility, as well. So if I'm going out to play this match against Russian, Belarusian, I feel of course more pressure that I need to win.
“That's why it means a lot to get these kinds of wins. In my own way, to bring this victory, small victory, to Ukraine.”
Svitolina’s reminder that she was a top-three player – as recently as October 2019 – is especially relevant, given she next faces a player among the new, and dominant, top three.
That would be Iga Swiatek, who survived a thrilling three-set battle with Belinda Bencic across on Centre Court while Svitolina and Azarenka were playing on No.1 Court.
“She's a great champion, also a great person,” said Svitolina of the Roland Garros and US Open titleholder.
“She had also a big battle today, as well… The priority (for me) is going to be to recover.
“Then I'm going to sit down with my coach, go through the game plan, see how I can find a way to beat her.”