Elina Svitolina breaks down in tearful Wimbledon post-match scenes

Wimbledon fan favourite Elina Svitolina has broken down in tears during her post-match press conference after her fairytale run at The All England Club came to a brutal end in the semi-finals. The Ukrainian admitted that playing for her war-torn country had become "too much" at times after the new mum was was comprehensively beaten in a 6-3 6-3 drubbing by Czech left-hander Marketa Vondrousova.

Svitolina has enjoyed a wave of support from Wimbledon fans throughout the tournament and said the war in her homeland had made her stronger and provided a major motivational factor behind her dream run to the last-four. Having already knocked out World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals - the fourth grand slam winner she had beaten this tournament - Svitolina could find no more miracles. Looking weighed down she was dominated by Vondrousova, the 2019 French Open runner-up whose only previous grand slam finals appearance was against Ash Barty in that French decider.

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Vondrousova will play Ons Jabeur in the Wimbledon final as the Tunisian looks to become Africa's first grand slam singles champion. Jabeur came from a set and 4-2 down in the second stanza to beat World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-3 in a stirring fightback that almost blew the roof off Centre Court.

Unfortunately for Svitolina, her own semi-final couldn't match the excitement of Jabeur's victory as the Ukrainian's Wimbledon campaign came to an abrupt halt. Speaking to reporters after the match, Svitolina - who gave birth to her first child just nine months ago - broke down about the "responsibility" of playing for her war-ravaged nation.

Elina Svitolina in tears during post-match press conference

“It’s a lot of responsibility, a lot of tension,” she said through tears. “I tried to balance as much as I can, but sometimes it gets too much.

"I’m really upset that I couldn’t go further. I’m really disappointed with the performance that I showed today. I’ll need a couple of days to really reflect on everything, to really switch myself off from everything, and think about what happened.

Marketa Vondrousova too good for Elina Svitolina

Svitolina simply came up against an opponent in Vondrousova who looked back to her ball-striking best, even though the Czech had only won the solitary match at Wimbledon prior to this tournament. Svitolina never gave up, pulling back to 4-3 from four down in the second stanza, but Vondrousova regrouped to seal the win in 75 minutes.

"It's crazy that this is happening," sighed Vondrousova, while a disappointed Svitolina, who'd been watched by Vadym Prystaiko, Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, in the Royal Box, was tearful as she said she hoped her efforts would help Ukrainians fight for their dreams.

"I'm really happy that it was live in Ukraine because it took some years to make this happen for Ukrainian people. I think 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."

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The other women's semi-final saw fellow fan favourite Jabeur come from within one point of going a set and 5-3 down against Sabalenka, before staging a miraculous fight back that sent Centre Court into raptures. "I'm going for my revenge. I have lost to Marketa twice this year. We're both hungry to win and both win our first grand slam," Jabeur said after the match.

As for the vast expectations on her as a potential first female champion from north Africa, she smiled: "The good thing is they always tell me, win or lose, we love you. "I'll always try to remember that. But there is one goal, and I'm going for it. Hopefully, I can make history, not just for me but for Africa."

with agencies

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