Elina Svitolina adds Iga Swiatek upset to Wimbledon fairytale run, plans to celebrate with a beer

Two days after celebrating the “second happiest moment of my life”, Elina Svitolina might have to reconsider that declaration.

On Tuesday, Svitolina added another chapter to a fortnight to remember at Wimbledon when she took down top-ranked Iga Swiatek, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2, on Centre Court.

“First of all, I’m gonna have a beer, probably,” laughed Svitolina during her on-court interview.

The 28-year-old became just the third women’s wild card to reach the semifinals at the All England Club and celebrated her seventh career victory over a world No. 1.

“I don’t know what is happening right now, in my head. Just really unbelievable,” Svitolina said. “I’m really, really happy I got this chance to play here again.”

Having traded breaks, Swiatek eventually led the opening set 5-3 and had 0-30 against the Ukrainian’s serve. Swiatek’s missed forehand return off a 78 m.p.h. second serve at 30-30 would ultimately prove significant, as it was the closest she would come to grabbing a one-set lead. Svitolina went on a torrid run, winning 16 of the final 17 points of the set. She had her second serve return to thank, claiming a tremendous 11 of 12 points.

Before the second set commenced, organizers opted to close the roof with rain expected in the area, a decision that interrupted play for 15 minutes. Swiatek appeared to regroup by stopping her opponent’s 20-for-22-point swing following an opening hold by Svitolina, eventually securing a break for 2-1. But just like in the first set, Swiatek couldn’t maintain the advantage.

At 2-3, Svitolina’s defense was rewarded when an errant forehand off Swiatek’s racquet put the set back on serve. She appeared to start another momentum shift with 10 of 11 points, but soon had to dig her heels in, as a double fault and tight backhand down the line in the ninth game contributed to the top seed creating two break points. Svitolina would save both of them with deep hitting and by targeting Swiatek’s forehand, reached 5-4.

After Swiatek posted a much-needed love hold, Svitolina stayed in front with a brilliant crosscourt backhand pass. The four-time major winner held her ground, firing an ace to force a tie-break. Svitolina jumped out to a 4-1 advantage, again reaping the benefits of directing her rally balls to Swiatek’s forehand wing. The top seed soon erased her deficit, finding a blazing forehand return winner. At 5-5, a superb serve +1 with a driving crosscourt backhand brough Swiatek to set point, and she leveled the clash when Svitolina’s backhand landed long.

Contrasting service games launched the decider—Swiatek cruised through hers while Svitolina fended off a pair of deuces. The Pole’s forehand strikes continued to be volatile, as a loose rip saw her fall behind 15-40. Though she recovered in getting back to deuce, that stroke again broke down to hand Svitolina a third break point, and she converted by pressuring Swiatek’s backhand with great depth.

The Odessa native shook off a 40-0 lead evaporating, adapting to a net cord during a rally for another game point and consolidated with the help of Swiatek’s shanked forehand. Svitolina’s agility in and out of the corners aided in moving ahead by a double break, and not long after, had the hard-fought victory in hand after two hours and 50 minutes. Swiatek embraced the 2018 WTA Finals champion at the net, before the tears began rolling down Svitolina's face.

“Iga is not only a great champion, she’s also an unbelievable person. She was one of the first ones that really helped Ukrainian people. It was a huge help for Ukraine,” expressed Svitolina. “For sure, it’s not easy to play against someone that you share a lot of good moments. I think for her as well, it was not easy. In the end, just really proud of the effort I did today.”

Svitolina is through to her third career major semifinal, having fallen in the last four at 2019 Wimbledon and US Open. She returned from maternity leave in April and is now projected to climb back into the Top 30 with her run here. For a chance to play for her first Grand Slam title, the former world No. 3 faces 2019 Roland Garros finalist Marketa Vondrousova. The left-handed Czech stormed back with the final five games to deflate No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

A round earlier, Swiatek had erased two match points to topple Belinda Bencic. The 22-year-old was contesting her first quarterfinal at SW19 and will lose her No. 1 ranking if second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka reaches the final (per the WTA). The Belarusian meets Madison Keys in the last eight Wednesday.