“It’s his turn to take care of Skai”– Elina Svitolina jokes about husband Gael Monfils' responsibilities at Australian Open after contrasting fortunes

Elina Svitolina recently joked that it was Gael Monfils' turn to look after their one-year-old daughter Skai after the Frenchman's early exit from the Australian Open 2024.

Monfils bowed out of the Melbourne Major with a loss to Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the second round. On the other hand, Svitolina is afloat in the women's singles pool as she recently entered the pre-quarterfinals. She downed Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday, January 21.

Svitolina was satisfied with her performance against Golubic and said during her on-court interview after the match:

"It was a great match from my side. I was really excited to play in the night session the first time here this year. Before I was a little bit scared I would be playing at night but I’m really happy I could finish the match in straight sets and played really good tennis as well."

Interestingly, this is the first time Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils have traveled for a competition with Skai since she was born in October 2022. Svitolina joked that it was her husband's turn to take care of Skai while she continues to take on opponents at Melbourne Park. She said:

"I’m still in the tournament now so it’s his turn to take care of her. It’s really nice to be here, all together as a family and you know, we didn’t take her to the US Open because it was such a long trip. We decided to bring her to Australia even though the flight was really, really long.

"But we made it here, she’s been enjoying Melbourne and New Zealand as well. It couldn’t have been a better place for her to spend time outside in the parks and long stalls with a grandma here. So it’s nice to be here all together."

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"Linda Noskova has beaten Iga Swiatek; I’m sure it’s going to be a big battle" - Elina Svitolina on her Australian Open 4R opponent

Elina Svitolina

Elina Svitolina will take on the Czech Republic's Linda Noskova in the fourth round of the Australian Open 2024. Noskova caused the biggest upset of the tournament so far by defeating top-seed Iga Swiatek in the third round on Saturday.

During the on-court interview, Svitolina recalled herself and Noskova playing at the ITF Portugal 04A event during the initial days of her comeback in April 2023.

"She has beaten Iga in a Grand Slam, it’s an amazing achievement, I’m sure it’s going to be a big battle. I remember when I just started the comeback, we played the same tournament in Portugal together. So, in that way, now here playing the fourth round together, it’s going to be exciting and a big challenge in front of me," Svitolina said.

In Portugal, both Elina Svitolina and Linda Noskova failed to win a match. The Ukrainian lost to Clara Tausan, while Noskova was forced to retire against Margaux Rouvroy.