yło 5:3 dla Świątek i się zaczęło. Switolina zadziwiła cały świat

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It was 5:3 for Christmas and it started. Svitolina astonished the whole world

Iga Świątek tried almost everything in the break of the match – including twice consulting with the entire training staff, and with the coach also outside the court. It was then two balls since winning the first set with Elina Switolina in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon 2023, but eventually lost 5:7, 7:6, 2:6. For one reason, the Ukrainian woman astonished not only herself, but also the tennis world. Now the players will face off in the 1/8 final in Miami.

Usually, Iga Świątek fans worry when their favorite during matches does not control their emotions and frustration makes it difficult for her to compete. However, there were also such meetings during which her peace turned out to be ominous. This was the case, among others, in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon from two years ago, in which the first set was already led by 5:3 and 30-0, but this party did not win. Now it is only possible to get to know if she did, Elina Switolina would not have closed the door to her a big, still unfulfilled dream.

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They met better as training partners during quarantine in early 2021. Switolina, who was seven years older, then shared valuable and practical knowledge with Christmas, explaining to her, among others, the specificity of tax systems in individual countries. The next season, they were even closer to the drama in the first homeland. The Polish woman has repeatedly shown support for the victims of the armed attack of Ukrainians, and a friend from Odessa from Odessa often thanked her for it.

However, it was also known that when they hit each other in the tournament ladder, during the match mutual sympathy is put aside. And so it was in each of the three previous confrontations. Also in the only one that ended with Switolina’s victory. And the stakes were the highest, and what kind of stake they fought among themselves.

Wimbledon 2022 – a nervous Christmas played from the beginning has fallen out in the third round. He broke through the same time after 37 games a very impressive series of victories. Svitolina was not at all in the cast of the tournament, because she was preparing for a new role in life – the role of mother. Three months later, she gave birth to her daughter Skai. She returned to the competition in April the following year as a 1344th rocket. Three months later, she joined the Grand Slam competition in London as the 76th, because in the meantime, she won the tournament in Strasbourg and reached the quarter-finals of Roland Garros.

At this stage, she faced a Polish woman with whom she lost the only duel until that moment – in the quarter-finals in Rome in 2021 it was 6:2, 7:5 for Christmas. Only that in the capital of Italy it is played on the earth courts, on which the latter feels like a fish in the water. On the grassy surface, it was often nervous and uncertain. This time in the quarter-finals it was different, although – as it turned out later – it was not a good signal at all.
Christmas led 5:3 and the end. Nothing helped. The Amazing Rine of Svitolia

It started promisingly – Świątek led 5:3 and 30:0. However, Switolina, who was serving at the time, came out of the oppression and not only avoided another loss of the application, but she won four games in a row, recording the opening set on her account. In particular, one statistic was significant – the Polish woman lost as much as 16 of 18 points in the end.

It was then that the younger tennis players looked towards the training staff in the box, and after a while she approached him to exchange his comments. She repeated this after returning from the cloakroom, and during her absence on the court she met with the then trainer Tomasz Wiktorowski (now she works with Wim Fissett). She had more time at the time temubecause the organizers decided to slide the roof.

– Such a break is longer and the coaches can then come to the player room. Then I wanted to get a return message from Maciej (Ryszczuk – physical preparation trainer – ed.) and Daria (Abramowicz, psychologists). I wanted their advice. I wasn’t sure where I should focus on, because I had the feeling that I was making the same mistakes, even though I tried to hit the ball better. Sometimes, when something doesn’t work, it’s hard to find the cause, because there can be a few. Sometimes it may be easier to analyze something from the outside – she later explained Christmas to journalists.

When she returned to the court, she also changed the rocket. It all worked at most temporarily. The Polish woman won the second round and it was then that for the first time she made a mobilizing cry. Switolina has reacted more emotionally since the beginning of the meeting – both successful plays and failures. After one of the broken balls, she rested her head on the net. In the decisive game, however, she gradually started and could tighten his fist in a gesture of triumph. The peace of the Polish women began to become more and more passive and it was only the background for the rival.

The rivals, which became a favorite of the London public. After the last ball of the game from Christmas, Switolina crouched and covered her mouth. She didn’t believe what had just happened. Not only did she beat the then leader of the world ranking, but she also repeated her best result in the Grand Slam (in London she had previously reached the semi-finals in 2019). In the next round, she fell off, but she still had great reasons to be happy. And a very successful start resulted in promotion to the 27th position of the WTA list.

Christmas calmly accepted the decision of that duel. She did not hide that the bitterness of defeat was soothing to her slightly the fact that Switolina was on the other side, which she hugged warmly after the game. The Polish woman also enjoyed the fact that she fell much better in Wimbledon than a year earlier. However, the Ukrainian closed the door to her dream, which was the semi-final of this prestigious event. This one remains the only installment of the Grand Slam, in which Christmas has never reached the top four.

Switolinie retaliated for that loss in the following season – in the 1/8 final in Dubai she won impressively 6:1, 6:4. How will it be in the 1/8 final in Miami? It is difficult to predict, but the Ukrainian probably – as usual – will be brave and patient. And if that’s why you shouldn’t get attached to the fact that six months ago it underwent an ankle surgery.

The match of Christmas – Switolina in Florida will take place on the night of Monday to Tuesday Polish time.