Wimbledon 2023, semi-finals, Thursday, 13/07/2023
She entered the tournament with a wild card, wanting to see how well she was back in form on the fast grass nine months after giving birth to her daughter. Now Elina Svitolina is actually in the semi-finals of Wimbledon 2023!
After her victory over the world number 1, the Ukrainian wants to take the last step towards the final, her opponent is not ranked in the top 40. But what do the favourite roles look like for Betano?
It is not the young mother who is favoured here! But that shouldn’t bother her, after all, it was no different in the quarter-finals. In my Svitolina Vondrousouva tip I now reveal why this match seems to me predestined for three sets.
From a German point of view, we fondly remember the fairytale that happened twelve years ago in London. Sabine Lisicki, equipped with a wildcard, sensationally reached the semi-finals!
Now, in 2023, the time has come again for us to welcome a holder of this wildcard in the round of the best four. Elina Svitolina, who only became a mother last October, is playing the Grand Slam of her life.
In April, the Ukrainian returned to the tour, and her quarter-final at the French Open had already caused quite a stir. Now the 28-year-old is showing that she can do just as well on the faster surface.
Her performance in the English capital cannot be overestimated. After her 6-4, 6-3 opener against Venus Williams, she has already been served up her first tough opponents.
She beat Elise Mertens 6-1, 1-6, 6-1, and managed to beat Sofia Kenin 7-6, 6-3. The clash against Victorija Azarenka was eagerly awaited, both from a purely sporting and political point of view.
Once again, there was no obligatory handshake, but Svitolina kept her nerve in a 2-6, 6-5, 7-6 win. The reward was a quarter-final against none other than the world number 1.
Against Iga Swiatek, Svitolina was the clear underdog, but right from the start it was clear that someone was determined to get ahead. 7-5, 6-7, 6-2, it was above all the convincing third set that lit up the Ukrainian colours!
Although Svitolina suffered nine double faults, she was convincing, winning 82% of her points on first serve. She has played in a semi-final in London in 2019, but has yet to reach a Grand Slam final.
She has met Marketa Vondrousouva five times in the course of her career and leads 3:2 in the direct comparison, a statistic that should be taken with a pinch of salt as the most recent encounter is already two years old.
Marketa Vondrousouva is the player who is slightly ahead at our betting providers, the odds show an average of 1.70 to 2.10. As number 42 in the world, the Czech is not an overpowering player, but she is ahead of Svitolina in the ranking.
The 24-year-old dropped significantly after her 2019 French Open final, failing to reach a quarter-final on the big stage for more than four years. So now there has been a marked improvement, with the final even calling.
Vondrousouva was hardly convincing during the preparations on grass, which makes what she is doing in the English capital all the more impressive. And this despite the fact that she has only reached the 2nd round of Wimbledon so far!
She started with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Peyton Stearns and followed it up with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Weronika Kudermetova. The first win against an opponent who was actually much stronger, and the next one was to follow at the same time!
Vondrousouva won 6-1, 7-5 against Donna Vekic and then knocked her compatriot Marie Bouzkova out of the tournament with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win. Jessica Pegula, the world number 4, was waiting in the last 16.
In the end, however, it was the Czech who rejoiced, again somewhat surprisingly. 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, it was one of the biggest wins of her career! Her last two opponents had eleven breaks each, and she won’t be able to afford that against Svitolina.
My Svitolina Vondrousouva Tip
Elina Svitolina continues to work on her own personal fairytale at Wimbledon. Just nine months after giving birth to her first child, she could actually make it to a final on the very big stage for the first time!
After her impressive success against Iga Swiatek, I have high hopes for her. But: On the other side is Marketa Vondrousouva, a player who has already eliminated some strong competitors.
I see the two of them on about the same level. Since I could watch five matches with three sets and Svitolina’s last three matches had tiebreaks, I expect an intense encounter:
Svitolina and Vondrousouva go to 3 sets!
