Svitolina staying calm ahead of first grand slam semi-final

Elina Svitolina refused to get too carried away by the thought of playing in a first grand slam semi-final after overcoming Karolina Muchova at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

Svitolina became the first Ukrainian woman to reach the last four of a slam after recording a 7-5 6-4 win over Muchova on No.1 Court.

Former world number one Simona Halep is next up for the eighth seed in a repeat of the 2017 French Open quarter-final which the Romanian won 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-0.

But Svitolina brushed off questions about the upcoming tie in her post-match news conference, insisting she was not ready to focus on such a monumental moment in her career just yet.

“It feels amazing. But I try to not think so much about it,” the 24-year-old told the media.

“Yes, I try to not think so much about stuff like that. You just try to think about different things.

Through to her first Grand Slam semi-final @ElinaSvitolina beats Karolina Muchova 7-5, 6-4 on No.1 Court to set up last four clash with Simona Halep#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/eONIrcWaE6

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2019

Svitolina conceded, however, that overcoming the hurdle could help her play with more freedom in future grand slams. 

“It gives you extra motivation, extra confidence for the future I would think,” she added. 

“This extra push for the end of the season. In general, just happy that I’m playing free, I’m playing decent tennis, I would say. I am happy that I have opportunity to play in a semi-final of Wimbledon. It’s something special.”

Svitolina has been knocked out in the quarter-final stage of majors on four previous occasions, including at this year’s Australian Open.

“I think I learned to be patient because I had lots of tough matches in quarter-finals. In a few of them I was very unlucky,” Svitolina said. 

“This is also experience, I would say, because you have to save some energy, you have to work smart, you have to schedule your practices, you have to do the right recovery. 

“You have to find your own way, what works for you, for your body, for your mind. I think it is just experience. That’s what I really learned.”