Elina Svitolina: "Iga Swiatek was one of the first ones to help Ukrainian people, not easy to play against someone you share lot of good moments with"

Elina Svitolina pulled off the biggest upset of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships on Tuesday, downing World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals.

The duo tussled it out for three sets on Centre Court, exchanging winners of the highest quality for nearly two hours and 40 minutes before the Ukrainian emerged victorious. Despite Swiatek's comeback in the second set, Svitolina prevailed 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2 to reach the semifinal.

In her on-court interview, the former World No. 3 was all praise for Swiatek, especially for the way she has constantly supported her home country of Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion last year.

Most notably, Iga Swiatek organzied a charity event to collect funds for relief efforts in Ukraine, where Svitolina participated as well, serving as the chair umpire.

"Iga is not only a great champion, she's also an unbelievable person. She was one of the first ones to help Ukrainian people and was a huge help for Ukraine, so for sure it's not easy to play against someone that you share a lot of good moments with," Elina Svitolina said.

Regarding her unbelievable form at Wimbledon this week, Elina Svitolina was stumped, adding that she's just happy to get the opportunity to play in front of the SW19 fans once more.

"I don't know what is happening right now. It's really unbelievable. I'm really, really happy that I got the chance to play here again. Playing this great match in a great atmosphere was an unbelievable feeling for me."

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"First of all, I'm gonna have a beer" - Elina Svitolina

Svitolina is back in the semifinals.

Elina Svitolina also said how she was going to prepare for her semifinal with Marketa Vondrousova, remarking that the first item on her agenda is to have a beer.

On a more serious note, she said that she plans to enjoy some timeoff tonight before getting together for an intense practice session on Wednesday in anticipation of the big battle on Thursday.

"First of all I'm gonna have a beer, probably. I'm gonna enjoy tonight, get some treatment, regroup and get ready for another big battle," Elina Svitolina said.

Up next, Svitolina, who entered Wimbledon with a wildcard, will take on the unseeded Marketa Vondrousova, another unexpected semifinalist. The Czech bested Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals, coming back from 4-1 down in the final set to reach her first semifinal at SW19.