(Provided by Tennis World USA)
The match between Elina Svitolina and Daria Kasatkina ended with a shy greeting from a distance, and not with a handshake, that the Russian tennis player surely deserved for having expressed her idea against the war in Ukraine, without any king of fear.
Svitolina’s position is shared with her countrywomen and countrymen. A position which, however, did not prevent her from appreciating Kasatkina’s courage at the press conference. Svitolina said in the press conference: “I’m really thankful for the position she’s taken.
She has proven to be a very brave person to say those things publicly, which many players haven’t done. She is really a brave girl.”
Svitolina on Sabalenka: “It will not change anything for me”
The Ukrainian tennis player will challenge in a few minutes Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals of the Roland Garros 2023.
We recall Sabaleka decided not to talk about the war in the press conference after the constant questions received during the first week. Elina talked about the imminent match against the Australian Open winner: “I played the last two matches against Russian tennis players, so it won’t change anything for me.
It will all be the same. Goals? Right now I don’t have the same pressure as before. Obviously I put a lot of pressure on myself because I want to win a Grand Slam. This is the ultimate goal for me. Nobody expected this result, and that helps me.
I don’t defend any point, I feel freer. Right now I try to listen to my body and take the recovery phase very seriously. I have to be careful, you never know how your body will react to a long break. have to manage stress during matches..” The French crowd, probably also due to her relationship with Gael Monfils, decided to side with Svitolina from the first round: “They’ve been supporting me since my first game, they’re really special .
Gael and I have been married for a couple of years, but I didn’t expect this support. I’m thankful that the crowd is rooting for me.”