Wimbledon 2023: Elina Svitolina Makes Sensational Comeback After Maternity Leave, Beats World No.1 Iga Swiatek

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Elina Svitolina, who recently returned from maternity leave, made an impressive comeback by securing a spot in the Wimbledon semifinals. The 28-year-old Ukrainian defeated top-ranked Iga Swiatek in a thrilling match that ended with a scoreline of 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2 on Tuesday. Svitolina, who gave birth to her daughter in October, rejoined the WTA tour in April and received a wild-card entry to the grass-court tournament after reaching the quarterfinals at the French Open.

A five-star performance _@ElinaSvitolina defeats the world No.1 Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2 to reach the semi-finals at #Wimbledon once again pic.twitter.com/l6nUu17KHj

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2023

In a post-match interview, Svitolina expressed her disbelief at her achievements, stating, "First of all I'm going to have a beer, probably. At the beginning of the tournament, if someone would tell me that I will be in the semifinal and beating world No. 1, I would just say that they're crazy." Her opponent, Iga Swiatek, a four-time major champion, had claimed her third French Open title last month but was playing in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time. Svitolina dominated the match at one point, winning 20 out of 22 points against Swiatek on Centre Court, including 16 of the final 18 points in the first set.

Svitolina's next challenge will be against Marketa Vondrousova, and a victory in that match would secure her a place in Saturday's final. This will be Svitolina's second appearance in the Wimbledon semifinals, with her previous attempt in 2019 resulting in a loss to eventual champion Simona Halep.

Despite her current ranking of 76th in the world, Svitolina has displayed remarkable form throughout the tournament. She has defeated four Grand Slam champions en route to the semifinals: Venus Williams in the first round, Sofia Kenin in the third, Victoria Azarenka in the fourth, and now Swiatek in the quarterfinals.

In another quarterfinal match, Marketa Vondrousova triumphed over fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula in a closely contested battle that ended with a score of 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on No. 1 Court. Vondrousova, a left-handed Czech player who reached the French Open final in 2019, staged a remarkable comeback after trailing 4-1 in the third set. This victory marks her fifth consecutive win on grass during the past eight days, an impressive feat considering her limited success on the surface previously.

Vondrousova expressed her delight at her unexpected progress, stating, "My best result here was the second round. It's amazing. I'm just loving grass now." This win over Pegula marks Vondrousova's fourth victory against a seeded player in this year's Wimbledon tournament, having defeated No. 12 Veronika Kudermetova, No. 20 Donna Vekic, and No. 32 Marie Bouzkova in previous rounds.

As the tournament progresses, fans eagerly anticipate the upcoming men's quarterfinal matches. Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic is set to face Andrey Rublev on Centre Court, while Jannik Sinner will compete against Roman Safiullin on No. 1 Court later in the day.