"She was really distracted with her ice cream, so I was not the priority" - Elina Svitolina on FaceTiming daughter Skai after reaching Wimbledon SF
After her Wimbledon quarterfinal win over top seed Iga Swiatek on Tuesday, Elina Svitolina joked that she was not the "priority" for her daughter Skai when they FaceTimed in the aftermath of her victory.
In a blockbuster last-eight clash on Centre Court, Svitolina drew first blood by rallying from a 5-3 deficit to pocket the opener. The Ukrainian trailed 3-1 in the second but she forced a tiebreak, and proceeded to run up a 4-1 lead. Swiatek, however, then hit a flurry of winners to force a decider.
Svitolina quickly regained control of proceedings in the third. She broke Swiatek twice to take it 6-2 and reach her second Wimbledon semifinal in five years.
In her post-match press conference, Svitolina shed light on what her daughter Skai, who was born in October 2022, is up to while she's going deep at Wimbledon:
"She's with Gael (Monfils) right now at home. I was FaceTiming with her just right after the match actually. She was really distracted with her ice cream, so I was not the priority there (smiling)."
Svitolina added that her daughter isn't old enough to care about wins and losses and that she is simply happy when she sees her mom back home:
"She is still at this age when she doesn't care if I win, if I lose. She's just happy by herself or sometimes when I come back home she's happy, too. Yeah, I enjoy seeing her happy with Gael. Our moms are helping us a lot, as well. It's great that we have a big family and lots of help."
Elina Svitolina will take on Marketa Vondrousova on Thursday as she eyes a place in her first Wimbledon final.
"I was really disappointed that I couldn't win in two" - Elina Svitolina
Elina Svitolina played her role in an enticing match but knows that she could have wrapped up proceedings in two sets against Swiatek.
She said:
"Lots of good rallies we had. Lots of good games. Tough situations. Tough moments. The crowd was great today. Really enjoyed the match. Even though I was really disappointed with the second set, that I couldn't win in two, but Iga played unbelievable."
Giving credit to her opponent for bouncing back, the 28-year-old Ukrainian continued:
"All credits to her to winning that second set. But then I tried to bounce back, tried to again go again. Yeah, just found myself winning the match in the end."
Elina Svitolina is the third wildcard to ever reach the Wimbledon semifinals, joining Zheng Jie (2008) and Sabine Lisicki (2011).