Here is a stat for you: this was the first time two unseeded women (“ladies”) have reached a Wimbledon semi-final in the Open era. But only one of them is from a country currently ravaged by war. Perhaps it was understandable, then, that the vast majority of the Centre Court crowd was rooting for Elina Svitolina, the Ukrainian, recent mother and player with the best rhyming name in tennis, who has been on a storming comeback from maternity leave.
But her dream of bettering her previous semi-final result at the All England Club, in 2019, was not to be. It was far from being, in fact, as she was blown off the court by Marketa Vondrousova, 6-3, 6-3. The Czech will now play her second grand slam final, after a defeat at Roland Garros four years ago.
