Elina Svitolina has priorities far bigger than tennis but that has not stopped her from producing a fairytale run to the semi-finals at Wimbledon.
The Ukrainian wildcard stunned world number one Iga Swiatek in a 7-5 6-7 (5) 6-2 victory on Centre Court having only returned to the sport three months ago following the birth of her daughter, Skai.
Svitolina is also taking motivation from the Russian invasion of her country as she moves closer to a scarcely believable first grand-slam title.
“I think it’s mixture of everything,” she said. “I think war made me stronger and also made me, like, mentally stronger. Mentally I don’t take difficult situations as like a disaster, you know? There are worse things in life. I’m just more calm.
“I think also, because I’ve just started to play again, I have different pressures. Of course, I want to win. I have this motivation, like huge motivation, to come back to the top.
“But I think having a child, and war, made me a different person. I look at the things a bit differently.”
The 28-year-old and her compatriots pointedly refuse to shake hands with players from Russia and Belarus, which prompted boos for Belarusian Victoria Azarenka after their fourth-round match.
If she beats Marketa Vondrousova on Thursday Svitolina could face another Belarusian, second seed Aryna Sabalenka, in the final.
“It’s still very, very far from that. I already played Azarenka the day before, so yeah, I cannot say much,” she said.
“As I mentioned before, each time I play against them, it’s big motivation, big responsibility as well for me. Different motivation as well for my country.
“But right now it’s very, very far. It seems very close, but it’s very far from this. Still I have to win. They have to win. So let’s stay here right now.”
Swiatek, just as she had in her previous match against Belinda Bencic, came from a set down to draw level and seemed to have snatched the momentum.
But Svitolina dominated the final set and stood in disbelief with her hands over her mouth when Swiatek hit the net on match point.
Swiatek has been a huge supporter of the Ukrainian cause following the invasion and wears a blue and yellow ribbon in her cap.
“It was much tougher game I would say because she’s a great person, she’s a big champion,” said Svitolina. “She’s done so much, and is still doing so much for Ukraine. We really admire her in Ukraine.
“In a way when you’re playing your good buddy, it’s tough because you don’t want to see her or him losing.
“When I was away from tennis, I was really cheering for her, really happy with her results.”
The feeling is mutual, according to Swiatek.
“I think overall, looking at her career, having a grand slam title would be pretty amazing for her. She’s coming back after becoming a mother,” said the Pole, 22.
“I think, yeah, I’ll root for her, especially because we like each other as people. I told her at the net that I hope she wins this tournament.
“You know how it is in tennis. It’s tough to win a grand slam. I know that for sure she wants it really bad. So I will be rooting for her, yeah.”
Murray fumes at umpire amid severe weather at Geneva Open
Andy Murray fumed at the umpire as inclement weather forced his Geneva Open tie with Yannick Hanfmann to be suspended.
Murray's meeting with Hanfmann was postponed with the Scot a set and a double break down, with his German opponent in control at 7-5 4-1.
Former world number one Murray was furious with umpire Greg Allensworth as the weather closed in.
"I know you guys don't play but it'd be good to have a bit of a feel for what's happening," said Murray during a break in play.
"You're fine for us to play when there's s*** flying around?
"It's like it's snowing out here and you still want us to keep going."
Allensworth eventually sent the players into the dressing rooms.
Murray is aiming to use the Geneva Open to prepare for what is set to be his first French Open appearance since 2020.
A tie with Novak Djokovic is on the cards if Murray can turn things around on Tuesday, though it looks incredibly unlikely.
Zverev sees off Jarry to claim second Italian Open crown
Alexander Zverev claimed his second Italian Open title following a 6-4 7-5 victory over Nicolas Jarry in the final.
The German, who also triumphed in Rome seven years ago, captured his first silverware of the season - and sixth of his career in an ATP Masters event.
Having dropped just a single set on the way to his 11th Masters final, Zverev continued his impressive form by winning 95 per cent of his first-serve points (37 out of 39) and committing just eight unforced errors.
Jarry had enjoyed an impressive fortnight in Rome, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas and Tommy Paul on the way to becoming the first Masters finalist from Chile since Fernando Gonzalez (also at the Italian Open) in 2007.
However, just two break points were enough to deny the 21st seed a fourth career ATP title, with Zverev eventually converting his fourth championship point to ensure a return to the winner's circle.
Data debrief
Zverev joins Rafael Nadal (10) and Novak Djokovic (six) as one of only three players since 2000 to win the Italian Open on multiple occasions.
Landing his second crown in Rome seven years after his first, it marks the longest gap in seasons between two men's singles titles at the event in the Open Era.
Meanwhile, Zverev became the most successful German male in ATP Masters events since the format's introduction in 1990, with his sixth such success seeing him eclipse Boris Becker's total of five.
Raducanu withdraws from French Open qualifying
Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from French Open qualifying, which starts on Monday.
Having endured an injury-hit few years since her 2021 US Open triumph, Raducanu was able to enter the year's second grand slam with a protected ranking of 103rd.
However, that was not enough to put her on the automatic entry list and she was not awarded a wildcard, making her third alternate for the women's draw.
No reason has been given for Raducanu's withdrawal from next week's qualifying tournament, and she can now only feature at Roland-Garros if three players drop out.
Raducanu was beaten 6-2 6-2 by Argentine qualifier Maria Lourdes Carle in the first round of the Madrid Open last month, subsequently saying she was "mentally and emotionally exhausted".
A host of withdrawals meant she did not have to go through qualifying for the Australian Open earlier this year, though she was beaten by China's Wang Yafan in the second round.
Raducanu has not made it past the second round in six major appearances since her triumph at Flushing Meadows, and she missed the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open last year after undergoing wrist and ankle surgeries.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
