Elina Svitolina promised herself a rewarding beer after knocking off top seed Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2 on Tuesday to set up a Wimbledon semi-final against Czech Marketa Vondrousova.
The Ukrainian wild card who had a child six months ago and returned to competition only in April, won the heart of the Centre Court crowd as she beat Swiatek by dominating the final set.
The defeated Pole has been a longtime supporter of neighbouring Ukraine since the Russian invasion, making the match an emotional challenge for former No.3 Svitolina, currently ranked 76th.
Upcoming semi-finals opponent Vondrousova continued her grass improvement with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 defeat of fourth seed Jessica Pegula.
Svitolina led Swiatek a set and 4-1 in the second set tiebreaker before the top world No. 1 fought back to force a third set.
Svitolina took early control and never let up, sending down her fifth ace for 5-1 and taking victory on her second match point as Svitolina hit the net with a forehand after almost three hours.
“I’m proud of my effort today – I’ll probably have a beer tonight,” the delighted winner said.
“Beating the No. 1 and reaching the semis: if anyone had told me that before, I’d say they were crazy.
“I’ll prepare tomorrow and regroup for the next big battle (on Thursday)
“I’m really happy I got the chance to play here again,” the three-time Grand Slam semi-finalist said.
“Playing Iga is not easy, she’s a fighter and an unbelievable person.
“She was one of the first to help Ukrainian people.”
The 42nd-ranked Vondrousova who finished 2019 runner-up at Roland Garros to Ash Barty had barely registered on the lawns prior to this edition at the All England Club.
She had managed only four grass-court main draw wins in career but has now improved to 9-12 on the formerly alien surface after putting out Pegula.
Her defeat of the daughter of a billionaire levelled her career record against Top 5 opponents to 7-7.
Vondrousova traded fierce groundstrokes with her American opponent as the third set was played under the closed Court No. 1 roof due to the threat of rain which is expected to last through the rest of the week.
She earned a 4-1 lead in the final set only to find herself 4-all with Pegula. But a break for 5-4 a game later put her into winning position, closing out the upset moments later on a second match point after two hours.
“What an amazing feeling, I can’t believe it,” the stunned winner said “I’ve never played under the roof.
“But I wanted to stay on court for as long as I could.
“I fought until the end since the momentum can change so quickly. I tried to stay in every game.
“She got better in the second set and was really pushing me. I’m very proud of my game. I’m loving grass now.”
