On n'arrête plus Elina Svitolina ! Déjà quart de finaliste à Roland-Garros, la jeune maman, wild-card, s'est qualifiée ce lundi pour le dernier carré de Wimbledon en éliminant la reine Iga Swiatek en trois sets et 2h40 de jeu, 7-5, (5)6-7, 6-2. Pourtant menée 5-3 dans la première manche, l'Ukrainienne s'est accrochée pour prendre l'avantage. Rejoint ensuite au tie-break, on se disait que la Polonaise avait peut-être enfin pris la mesure de son adversaire. Mais la 76e joueuse mondiale a remis un coup d'accélérateur pour aller chercher sa septième victoire sur une n°1 mondiale et sa deuxième demie à Londres après celle en 2019. Le retour de maternité se passe à merveille pour l'épouse de Gaël Monfils qui visera jeudi contre Marketa Vondrousova une première finale en Grand Chelem.
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00:00 Yes, unbelievable.
00:01 I'm really happy with the performance today.
00:04 And, yeah, just really, really happy.
00:09 Everything could click in the right moment for me before Wimbledon.
00:14 And, yeah, I'm just happy with the performance today.
00:17 Hi, Antonio from La Repubblica.
00:22 What does it mean for you and for your country,
00:25 this incredible win today?
00:28 It means definitely a lot.
00:30 And I know that lots of people back in Ukraine watching
00:35 got really massive amount of messages from last round.
00:43 And I didn't really check my phone yet today.
00:47 But I think there will be a lot of messages, a lot of news.
00:52 And I'm happy that I can bring little happiness to their life.
00:57 There was many videos also on the internet where the kids are watching on their phones.
01:03 And, you know, this really makes my heart melt seeing this.
01:09 And, you know, just happy I could bring little happiness to people of Ukraine.
01:14 Congratulations.
01:19 This whole experience, obviously, having the child in the war and having this higher purpose,
01:25 has it made you a better tennis player in the sense that when you're on the court,
01:31 you're experiencing these tight matches in a different way than you used to?
01:37 I think it's a mixture of everything.
01:39 Also, I think war made me stronger.
01:45 And also made me mentally stronger.
01:51 Mentally, I don't take difficult situations as a disaster, you know,
02:00 because they are worse things in life.
02:04 And I'm just more calmer.
02:07 I think also because I just started to play again.
02:14 I have different pressures.
02:16 Of course, I want to win.
02:17 And, you know, I have this huge motivation to come back to the top.
02:22 But, you know, I think having a child and war made me a different person.
02:30 And I look at the things a bit differently.
02:33 Hi, Alina.
02:37 There was a time in your career when you were a top player,
02:41 but it wasn't always easy for you to bring your best form to the Grand Slams.
02:45 I'm wondering just how different a big match and big moments like this feel now
02:50 compared to when you were, you know, ranked number three in the world.
02:54 Yeah, it's different right now.
02:57 Right now I just say to myself, you know,
03:00 I think it's less years that I have in front than behind me.
03:07 And, you know, I have to go for it.
03:09 I don't have time to lose anymore.
03:11 And I don't know how many years I will be playing more.
03:15 So I just, you know, I try to tell myself, like, go for it.
03:20 You practice for these moments, for these big moments.
03:23 Like today I was walking, you know, through this, the path where you go to the center court
03:28 and you see so much history and you just realize, you know, you play,
03:34 you practice for this kind of moment.
03:39 So I just, I told myself, like, go out there and give your best and go for it.
03:44 And this really helped me and calmed me a little bit as well.
03:50 Alina, James Gray from the Eye.
03:52 You said on court if someone had told you you'd be in the semifinals,
03:55 you would have thought they were crazy.
03:58 You're in the semifinals. You've just beaten the world number one.
04:00 Can you win Wimbledon?
04:02 You're crazy.
04:06 Well, I don't think so much about it until you told me this.
04:11 I take one match at a time.
04:13 I know that there is a few matches left to get that trophy.
04:19 But, yeah, I don't want to think so much about this because you need to break down everything to small pieces.
04:31 I want to, you know, tomorrow to practice, to work on a few tactical things for my upcoming match,
04:37 then play that match.
04:40 Marketa, she's a tough opponent.
04:42 It's going to be a big challenge for me.
04:44 So that's why I don't want to rush and think about, you know,
04:48 that I might be playing a final, might not play the final.
04:53 So, you know, these kind of things, I think they distract so much the mindset.
05:02 Liz Perkins, Daily Express.
05:04 I just wondered what it was like for you to have the support of the British crowd today.
05:08 And also if you would like to say something about the way in which Britain has supported Ukraine during this conflict.
05:14 My paper's one of the ones who's actually led a campaign in support for your country as well.
05:19 Yeah, it's a massive support from England and English people here as well.
05:26 I think we got a great welcome, all Ukrainians.
05:31 We spoke a couple of days ago about that and really enjoyed our stay.
05:36 Really thankful for the championship to give us also extra support.
05:44 And of course, you know, generally speaking, it was unbelievable what England did and doing for Ukrainians.
05:58 So we can't thank enough for them to do everything what's in their power.
06:05 I heard many, many stories and it's great.
06:09 Really unbelievable.
06:12 Iga was saying she felt like you were playing differently than the last time you faced her, that your game had changed.
06:20 Do you feel it's the case? Is it something that will be implemented with Raymond?
06:24 Yes, definitely. I mentioned already before a couple of days ago that I changed a few things with my racket, with my strings.
06:36 Also, I have a different team and with Raymond, even before I started to play tournaments,
06:46 we were talking a lot about the game style, about the game style of different players.
06:52 We had this time, I think three and a half or maybe four months to work on a few things and also talk about it.
07:01 You know, how I should practice to improve a few things here and there.
07:08 He watched a gazillion matches of me playing different opponents.
07:14 So everything clicked together and I'm happy on which path we are right now.
07:22 And we are making small steps towards a goal.
07:30 Hi, I'm Finrich from the Associated Press.
07:34 Where is your daughter and how much of a chance have you been getting to see her while you're here?
07:44 She's with Gael right now at home.
07:49 I was FaceTiming with her just right after the match, actually.
07:54 She was really distracted with her ice cream, so I was not the priority there.
08:01 She's still at this age when she doesn't care if I win, if I lose.
08:05 She's just happy by herself.
08:08 Sometimes when I come back home, she's happy too.
08:13 I enjoy seeing her happy with Gael and our mums are helping us a lot as well.
08:27 It's great that we have a big family and lots of help.
08:31 Could you describe being back out on centre court in front of the crowd?
08:45 It was a crazy feeling.
08:51 I cannot describe it in one word.
08:54 Lots of good rallies, we had lots of good games, tough situations, tough moments.
09:03 The crowd was great today as well.
09:06 I really enjoyed the match, even though I was really disappointed with the second set that I couldn't win in two.
09:16 But Iga played unbelievable and all credits to her winning that second set.
09:22 I tried to bounce back, try to go again.
09:28 I just found myself winning the match in the end.
09:33 Iga Świątek supports Ukraine. She's still playing with the flag on her head.
09:42 What does it mean for you? Does it mean that this game today was a little bit easier for you?
09:52 It was a much tougher game.
09:55 She's a great person, she's a big champion.
10:00 She's done so much and still doing so much for Ukraine.
10:06 We really admire her in Ukraine.
10:11 When you're playing your good buddy, it's tough because you don't want to see her or him losing.
10:22 When I was away from Taneza, I was really cheering for her and really happy with the results.
10:30 I was really amazed by what she's doing. It's really remarkable.
10:37 I would say that it was quite tough to be fair.
10:42 Can you tell us something about Remel and how he helps you?
10:48 We talk a lot about different game styles.
10:54 We talk about the way that I play.
10:58 Firstly, he's a great guy. He's a great person.
11:04 I think we really enjoy working together on the court and off the court as well.
11:12 It's just something that clicks together.
11:19 So far, it's working well. I'm happy that we found this connection.
11:24 I think from other times, when you start working with someone, normally it happens during the off-season.
11:33 You have a couple of weeks to work together and then you're straight into Australia Open.
11:38 We had more period of time because I was coming back slowly.
11:45 I had three months, four months to work on a few things.
11:49 We could actually have time to work properly on some things that we think I have to bring into my game.
11:59 That's why I think it's a little bit different than other situations.
12:06 When does this semi-final mean to you after the pregnancy break?
12:17 It means the world to me. As I said, I didn't really expect that I'll be in the semi-final.
12:22 I just tried to take one match at a time.
12:25 I want to continue going this way. I have in front of me a big challenge.
12:32 I'm really proud of the way that I've been playing against tough opponents, Grand Slam champions,
12:39 the players who know how to win, how to play pressure moments.
12:44 I'm really happy with my performance and with the way that I've been handling the situation so far.
12:50 You said that Gael has parenting responsibilities.
12:56 Is it possible at all that he might come and watch the next match or the final?
13:01 I wouldn't want to change so much.
13:04 I'm not really superstitious, but I just don't want to jinx a few things.
13:11 He's happy at home. He's watching from home with Sky and with my parents as well.
13:18 He has his routines as well before my match.
13:25 He's also right now recovering and getting ready for the US Swings.
13:31 I let him stay at home for now.
13:34 Harry Styles has offered you free tickets and said that it's the best tournament.
13:40 What does it mean to know that he's supporting you?
13:43 Have you heard from anyone from his team about when you might be able to go see him?
13:47 I checked his upcoming concerts that left.
13:52 It depends on what I'm going to do here, but it looks like I might not make it in the end.
13:58 I want to go home to see my daughter as well.
14:03 I don't know if I could make it to his concert this time.
14:10 But I really want to.
14:12 He messaged me as well that anytime I could go to see his concert.
14:19 It was very sweet from him. Hopefully, one day I can go.
14:25 Congratulations. Bill Simons, Inside Tennis.
14:28 We're at this beautiful tournament. It's a fantastic setting.
14:35 There are soldiers, men and women, in their homeland fighting amidst bombs and gunfire and missiles.
14:44 What are your thoughts about those men and women?
14:47 If you could say something to them, what would you say?
14:51 It's really unbelievable what they're doing for our country.
14:56 I can't thank enough for their bravery, for what they're going through.
15:06 It really takes a lot to go to fight for your country.
15:13 I'm just really thankful for what they're doing for Ukraine.
15:20 All Ukrainians are here to help them win this war.
15:27 I know you're focusing on the semi-final. The Wimbledon crowd is cheering you on to the final.
15:36 On Saturday, you could be playing in Belarus. Is that a motivation? How will you approach that match?
15:42 It's still very far from that.
15:46 I already played in Azarenka the day before.
15:54 I cannot say much.
15:59 You'll be fighting for Ukraine after that match.
16:02 For sure. I mentioned before that each time I play against them, it's a big motivation.
16:09 It's a big responsibility for me, because it's a different motivation from my country.
16:16 Right now, it's very far. It seems very close, but it's very far from this.
16:23 I have to win some matches. They have to win some matches.
16:28 Let's stay here right now.