Even the best female players in the world are not immune to nerves, as Iga Swiatek discovered on Tuesday when her dreams at Wimbledon were shattered by falling in the quarterfinals to Elina Svitolina, 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), and 6-2.
Ukrainian Svitolina, who returned to competition in April after giving birth to her daughter in October, was losing 5-3 in the first set and had problems with her serve on Centre Court.
The courtside view of Elina Svitolina's moment ✨ #Wimbledon
However, the dynamic suddenly changed in favor of Svitolina, who from 0-30 with her serve in the ninth game won 16 of the next 18 points to take the first set and stun Swiatek.
After Svitolina closed the set, the players had to endure a 20-minute break while the roof was closed to cover the dark clouds hovering over Centre Court.
That interval gave Swiatek the opportunity to reassess her tactics and she took a 2-1 lead in the second set. But her opponent recovered to make it 3-3 and neither could gain an advantage, taking the match to a tie-breaker.
Svitolina took a 4-2 lead, but Swiatek rallied to even the score.
In the decisive set, Svitolina, who had already defeated three Grand Slam champions before facing Swiatek, brought out her full arsenal of shots to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for the second time in four years and end her opponent's streak of 14 consecutive victories.
A five-star performance ???? Elina Svitolina defeats the world No.1 Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2 to reach the semi-finals at #Wimbledon once again
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