Vanquished Svitolina urges Ukrainians to 'keep fighting for your dream'

LONDON: When Marketa Vondrousova fell to her knees in triumph after ending Elina Svitolina's incredible Wimbledon odyssey on Thursday (Jul 13), the Czech not only crushed the dreams of a new mother but also of a war-torn nation desperate to witness some cheer.

Svitolina's remarkable run to the Wimbledon semi-finals nine months after she gave birth to daughter Skai had offered some much needed joy to Ukrainians who have been trying to cope with Russia's invasion of the country for the last 17 months.

Against that backdrop of destruction, millions of Ukrainians had been following the Wimbledon fortunes of Svitolina and rejoiced as she took down four Grand Slam champions, including Poland's world number one Iga Swiatek, to reach the last four.

Although 28-year-old Svitolina was left totally distraught when Vondrousova cut short that run on Thursday, the turmoil in her homeland remained at the forefront of her thoughts.

"It's unbelievable that they have been there with me all the way. Hopefully they continue," she said as her eyes welled up.

"My family was watching. A lot of people, as well, in Ukraine. I'm really happy that it was live in Ukraine because it took some years to make this happen for Ukrainian people.

"It's really important for kids to watch tennis and other sports as well, to have something different in their life, for them to set their dreams, to set their goals."

In the lead-up to the showdown with Vondrousova, Svitolina declared that the war in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a 'special military operation', had made her stronger, allowing her to play a fearless brand of tennis few had observed from her before.

On Thursday, however, it seemed that weight of expectation had finally caught up with her and the spectacular