Iga Swiatek has played down her lack of British support at Wimbledon, with the world No.1 insisting she ‘doesn’t care’ after her shock quarter-final loss.
The Polish star was stunned by Ukrainian wildcard Elina Svitolina on Tuesday, who is ranked world No.76 and vowed to have a beer after her remarkable win.
Spectators inside Centre Court could mostly be heard cheering for Svitolina, who has become somewhat of a fan favourite with no British players left in singles.
But Swiatek feels there was more of an even split in the crowd and says she ‘doesn’t care’ if home fans are not on her side.
Asked about the British support for Svitolina, Swiatek said: ‘Well, I don’t really know what you mean because I think she’s fully Ukrainian, especially with what’s going on right now.
‘It doesn’t really measure the voices of the people in the crowd, so it was hard for me to say who are they cheering for. I thought it was more even, so… I don’t really care.’
Speaking more generally about what went wrong in her defeat, Swiatek added: ‘Well, for sure, yeah, my forehand wasn’t the best.
‘I’ll still work on it. But honestly, it’s hard for me to, like, point one thing what failed exactly. I think Elina was just overall playing aggressively and giving it all in every shot.
‘I felt like she’s playing differently than before, than when we played on clay a couple years back. So for sure I played some mistakes that I shouldn’t do. That’s why I lost. But she also put pressure on me, I think.
‘She played with more freedom and more guts. Sometimes she really just let go of her hand and she played really, really fast.’
Svitolina, meanwhile, quizzed about the support from the British crowd, said: ‘Yeah, it’s a massive support from England, English people here, as well.
‘I think we got a great welcome. All Ukrainians. We spoke a couple days ago about that, enjoyed our stay. Really thankful for The Championships to also give us extra support.
‘Of course, generally speaking, it was unbelievable what England did and doing for Ukrainians. We can’t thank enough for them to do everything what’s in their power. I heard many, many stories. It’s great. Really unbelievable.’
Svitolina, who has enjoyed a resurgence in 2023 after giving birth less than a year ago, says she FaceTimed her daughter after her win over Swiatek and has also dedicated her victory to the people of Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
‘I know that lots of people back in Ukraine watching,’ Svitolina added. ‘I got really massive amount of messages from last round. I didn’t really check my phone yet today, but I think there will be a lot of messages, a lot of news.
‘I’m happy I can bring little happiness to their life. There was many videos also on Internet where the kids are watching on their phones. This really makes my heart melt seeing this. Just happy I could bring little happiness to people of Ukraine.’
MORE : World No.1 Iga Swiatek suffers shock Wimbledon defeat
MORE : Elina Svitolina vows to ‘drink beer’ after reaching Wimbledon semi-final
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