Le duel entre l'Ukrainienne Elina Svitolina et la Biélorusse Victoria Azarenka promettait d'être intense et électrique en huitième de finale de Wimbledon. Promesse tenue. Les deux mamans ont proposé un superbe bras de fer qui a tourné en faveur de la 76e joueuse mondiale, pour la deuxième fois de sa carrière en quarts de finale à Wimbledon. Le match s'est conclu en 2h49 avec un succès de Svitolina au super tie-break, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(9). Bien évidemment, les deux femmes n'ont pas échangé de poignée de mains. "Vika" a tout de même fait un signe envers son adversaire avant d'être sifflée à sa sortie du court. En conférence de presse, celle qui affrontera Iga Swiatek est revenue sur ce match remporté et si important pour elle, "cette victoire est une petite victoire pour l'Ukraine".
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SportTranscription
00:00 It was an extremely tough match.
00:03 Lots of things were happening.
00:08 I was set down 0-2 down.
00:10 I was really, really upset with my level and just slowly was getting back into it.
00:16 It was an unbelievable moment for me to win that match.
00:21 Alina, I wanted to ask about your next opponent in the quarterfinal.
00:26 You will play with Vega.
00:27 What are your thoughts about her?
00:30 You have a great journey here at Wimbledon.
00:34 What do you think about how this match will look like in the European?
00:39 What do you have to take care of to handle Vega and try to defeat her?
00:47 Firstly, she's a great champion and also a great person.
00:53 I'm really thankful for her support.
00:56 The support of Ukrainians and Ukraine and doing everything that is in her power.
01:03 Being vocal about that.
01:05 She had a big battle today as well.
01:10 To be fair, I didn't speak yet with my coach about what's going to be the plan.
01:19 But I'm going to have a practice day tomorrow.
01:23 The priority is going to be to recover.
01:26 Then I'm going to sit down with my coach, go through the game plan and see how I can find a way to beat her.
01:35 Alina, how do you think this result will be viewed in your homeland?
01:44 Do you think it was right that you should have been playing someone from Belarus in the first place?
01:50 I got lots of support and I quickly checked my phone.
01:54 There were over 60-70 messages that I got from people.
01:58 They were watching, they were cheering.
02:00 Lots of videos from people watching it on the TV.
02:05 I'm really proud of the effort that I did.
02:09 I was there when I was sent down, zeroed to Dan.
02:14 I was really feeling bad because I didn't show up for the match to just play like that.
02:23 I was really upset about that.
02:25 I just told myself that I have to fight, I have to give everything here.
02:29 In the end, I just slowly got back into the match.
02:38 This mindset really pushed me through because I have no right to complain in this situation.
02:48 I just had to go out there and fight.
02:52 The second part of that was, do you think it was right that you should have been playing someone from Belarus in the first place?
02:59 Last year, there was a clear message from Wimbledon.
03:07 This year, it was changed because of different kinds of pressure.
03:13 I already answered this question on the first day of the media.
03:19 I don't really support the change.
03:24 Can you tell us how Wimbledon is working with the start of the season?
03:43 Yes.
03:45 Actually, today we're talking with some of the Ukrainians about this.
03:49 It's a huge help for us.
03:51 Starting from any tournament leading up to Wimbledon, our accommodation was paid.
04:00 Even if you lost in qualifiers, the accommodation was paid.
04:03 You had a chance to practice, to prepare well.
04:07 Here as well, it's a huge help for us because a lot of players right now had to relocate completely.
04:18 They are paying for their family, for their friends somewhere in Europe to find new homes.
04:26 So, any help is really a huge help for us because our expenses are much more these days than, I guess, years before the war.
04:38 What did you make of the crowd reaction, both to yourself and also to your opponent who was buried off the court?
04:52 I got the same in Paris.
04:58 I played three matches in Paris, in this way, and today as well.
05:08 For me personally, I think the tennis organizations have to come out with a statement that there will be no handshake between Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian players.
05:23 I don't know if it's maybe not clear for people.
05:27 Some people don't really know what is happening.
05:31 So, I think this is the right way to do.
05:37 Did you think it was a bit unfair then on your opponent?
05:40 Well, it was like this in Paris.
05:42 It also was unfair for me in Paris in the quarter-final.
05:48 But here you had a lot of support.
05:51 There were shouts of "Slavia, Ukraine!" as well.
05:54 It was Ukrainians who were there.
05:57 I heard a lot of Ukrainian people actually in the crowd.
06:04 So, this was really special.
06:08 And the crowd was amazing.
06:11 It was really an unbelievable feeling.
06:13 I think it was one of the best atmospheres that I ever played.
06:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]