Elina Svitolina said she was fighting for Ukraine after saving three match points and knocking out last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini. The No.13 seed came back from a set and 4-1 down to triumph 4-6 7-6 6-1 against the Italian.
And Svitolina, who is married to French star Gael Monfils, said: “It was a tough battle today. Very happy I could continue fighting, continue going for my shots. Three match points down. Yeah, very happy the way I could put up the fight and just play well in the third. It is definitely very important for me personally. The last few months have been really, really tough for Ukrainian people, and the last few weeks have been awful as well.
“It’s something that all Ukrainians that we live on a daily basis with, with the bad news. So when I’m on the court, I’m fully focused on my job, on my tennis, and try to get these wins, try to keep the Ukrainian flag flying for my country. That’s what motivates me to keep pushing, to keep winning, to keep playing tennis in general. So, yeah, this is what I have on a daily basis, but yeah, it’s heavy, but in the same way it’s a huge motivation for me.”
Ukraine has had wavering support from President Donald Trump’s US administration and Volodymyr Zelenskyy was shamefully treated at a White House meeting in February.
But former world No.3 Svitolina, who revealed she has raised more than $1 million for her children’s foundation, said: “If we speak about the governments, there are many decisions from many governments. Doesn’t matter which country it is. They do some things that we think that they are good and some things are bad. Of course, it’s for all people the same.
“But for me right now I want to focus, and it’s been for many years now. The war has been ongoing for over three years. I want to focus on the innocent people that are suffering in Ukraine, the kids, the kids that are suffering back in Ukraine. The kids are our future, and we need to take care of them.
“Like through my foundation, I try to give them the opportunity to continue playing sport, to continue dreaming, to continue training, to continue just having this one or two hours a day where they can enjoy the sport, where they can just switch off for this moment and be just kids..
“The kids are not in the war, but just kids who are like in the States, like in here in France who can just simply enjoy the sport, enjoy the game. I try to do everything to raise money for my foundation to create more opportunities for them.”
Svitolina will now face Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals after the four-time champion also recovered to beat No.12 seed Elena Rybakina 1-6 6-3, 7-5. It was her 25th consecutive French open win but the former Wimbledon champion had led 5-0 after 23 minutes.
The Polish world No.5 said: “It was tough. The first set I felt like I was playing Jannik Sinner. Elena really pushed me. I needed to do something to get back in the game. The way she was playing I didn’t have a lot of hope. I just kept fighting and I am happy that I got there.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk