READ MORE: \ufeff<\/strong>Wally's 'cold hard fact' for suspended Walsh<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n READ MORE: <\/strong>Ricciardo makes shock return to F1\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n And Svitolina firmly believes that those quite different factors actually do affect the way she swings a racket and the way she handles important moments on a tennis court. Enough so that she is one of the last four women remaining at Wimbledon after adding to her series of surprising victories over major champions with a 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2 victory against No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek.<\/p>\n \u201cWar made me stronger and also made me mentally stronger. Mentally, I don\u2019t take difficult situations as, like, a disaster, you know? There are worse things in life. I\u2019m just more calmer,\u201d said Svitolina, 28, who once was ranked as high No. 3 and now is No. 76 after taking time off to start a family with her husband, tennis player Gael Monfils.<\/p>\n She only returned to the tour three months ago.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso, because I just started to play again, I have different pressures,\u201d Svitolina said after kneeling down, then covering her face with her hands, when Swiatek missed one last forehand at Centre Court. \u201cOf course, I want to win. I have this motivation, like huge motivation, to come back to the top. But I think having a child \u2014 and war \u2014 made me a different person. I look at the things a bit differently.\u201d<\/p>\n She received a wild-card entry from the All England Club to get into the field and now will face another unseeded player, 42nd-ranked Marketa Vondrousova, for a berth in Saturday\u2019s final.<\/p>\n Watch Wimbledon 2023 live and free on <\/strong>9now<\/strong><\/a>. Alternatively, you can stream every match live, ad-free and on demand on <\/strong>Stan Sport<\/strong><\/a>, with centre court in 4K UHD.<\/strong><\/p>\n Vondrousova, the 2019 French Open runner-up, beat fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 by grabbing the last five games after being a point from trailing 5-1 in the last set at No. 1 Court. Pegula dropped to 0-6 in major quarterfinals.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what happened,\u201d the left-handed Vondrousova said.<\/p>\n Both women\u2019s matches Tuesday were interrupted when rain arrived and the courts\u2019 roofs were shut so play could continue. Swiatek used the break to animatedly chat with her sports psychologist, who was up in the stands, then headed toward an off-court lounge to huddle with her coach.<\/p>\n None of that helped her figure out what was wrong with her spin-heavy forehand, which accounted for 57 total errors \u2014 28 unforced, 29 forced \u2014 and 22 winners.<\/p>\n Swiatek, who was coming off claiming her fourth Grand Slam title at the French Open last month, felt the change in the way Svitolina smacked balls over the Centre Court net. That included a stretch where Svitolina won 20 of 22 points during a stretch that spanned the end of the first set and start of the second.<\/p>\n \u201cShe played with more freedom and more guts. Sometimes, she really just let go of her hand,\u201d Swiatek said, pantomiming a forehand, \u201cand she played really, really fast.\u201d<\/p>\n Novak Djokovic reached his 46th Slam semifinal \u2014 tying Roger Federer's record for men \u2014 by defeating No. 7 Andrey Rublev 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3, and next will face No. 8 Jannik Sinner. Djokovic is seeking a fifth consecutive championship at Wimbledon and an eighth overall \u2014 numbers that also would equal Federer \u2014 and his 24th career Grand Slam trophy.<\/p>\n Sinner made it to his first major semifinal by eliminating Roman Safiullin 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.<\/p>\n \u201cIt means a lot me,\u201d Sinner said. \u201cWe put a lot of work in \u2014 many, many hours off court, a lot of sacrifice \u2014 for this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Svitolina certainly did not expect to still be around this deep into the fortnight. She originally wasn\u2019t even planning to get back in action after giving birth until around now. But she and Monfils started working out together on Jan. 2, and Svitolina\u2019s progress was substantial enough that she altered her timeline.<\/p>\n Good call.<\/p>\n She added the win against Swiatek to those against seven-time major champion Venus Williams in the first round, 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin in the third, and two-time Australian Open champ Victoria Azarenka in the fourth.<\/p>\n There is definitely a sense of urgency with all of this.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s less years that I have in front than behind me. I have to go for it. I don\u2019t have time to lose anymore. I don\u2019t know how many years I will be playing,\u201d Svitolina said. \u201cYou practice for these moments, for these big moments.\u201d<\/p>\n And for the kinds of moments that come after she leaves the court.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Svitolina FaceTimed with Ska\u00ef, who is at home in Monte Carlo with Monfils and the new grandparents.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was really distracted with her ice cream, so I was not the priority there,\u201d Svitolina said. \u201cShe is still at this age when she doesn\u2019t care if I win, if I lose.\u201d<\/p>\n There are, naturally, those who do care. A lot.<\/p>\n Svitolina\u2019s phone has been inundated by messages of support from her her native country, and she\u2019s seen videos of kids there following her matches.<\/p>\n \u201cThis really makes my heart melt, seeing this,\u201d she said. \u201cJust happy I could bring a little happiness to the people of Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by <\/strong>clicking here<\/strong><\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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