Belarusian Victoria Azarenka booed after defeat to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina

Belarusian Victoria Azarenka left Court One to a chorus of boos after losing a dramatic fourth-round contest to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.

The crowd had been overwhelmingly behind Svitolina throughout and produced a deafening roar when she clinched a 2-6 6-4 7-6 (9) victory.

The former world number three had been booed at the French Open for refusing to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents but here it was Azarenka, who put her hand up to acknowledge Svitolina before leaving the court, that received loud jeers.

It was unclear whether the fans thought it was she who had snubbed her opponent and Azarenka gave a long, lingering stare before banging her fists together as she walked off.

Svitolina only returned to the tour in April following the birth of daughter Skai in October, and she beamed as she said in her on-court interview: “After giving birth to our daughter, this is the second fabulous moment in my life.

“It was a really tough match. When I was 0-2 down in the second set I heard you guys cheering for me and I almost wanted to cry. I was really struggling and I really wanted to win today. You guys gave me so much strength today.”

Svitolina also drew strength from thinking of the plight of her stricken homeland, saying: “I was thinking back home there are lots of people that are watching and cheering for me, I know how much it means for them.

“Any moments that they can share of happiness. I was thinking there is tough times in Ukraine and I’m here playing in front of you guys. I cannot complain, I just have to fight. And here I am, I won the match.”

These were the final two mothers left in the singles draw but there was certainly no maternal bond here.

Svitolina spoke before the contest about her “big