After almost three hours of understanding her role and executing a calculated game plan to perfection, Elina Svitolina was suddenly at a loss to explain what she had achieved. In stunning the world No 1 Iga Swiatek to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals, the Ukrainian wildcard, who only returned to tennis three months ago after becoming a mother, continued her fairytale comeback run in a story that is becoming bigger than the tournament. It could become greater still.
There will be no overshadowing this. After knocking out Victoria Azarenka in the previous round, delivering a victory for Ukraine against Belarus in a three-set thriller that was dominated afterwards by the Wimbledon crowd booing Azarenka off the court, Svitolina produced an even stronger performance against Swiatek. It’s a seismic shock, delivered by a wildcard with nothing to lose and who no longer sees tennis as the most important thing in her life.
