Marta Kostyuk and Elina Svitolina played for something much greater than a coveted berth in the semifinals at the French Open on Tuesday.
They took the court at Roland Garros in Paris for their country.
The two Ukrainian women, whose families and friends have been impacted by the Russian invasion of their homeland four years ago, played with heavy hearts hours after learning of an overnight attack launched by Russia. Drones and missiles directed at the capital, Kyiv, and other cities killed at least 18 civilians and injured at least 100 more, per authorities.
No. 15 seed Kostyuk, dominant on the clay courts this season, will be the first Ukrainian woman to play in a singles semifinal at the French Open after defeating No. 7 seed Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. It was the first quarterfinal at Roland Garros to be contested by two Ukrainian women.
In the semifinals, Kostyuk will meet Russian Mirra Andreeva, the No. 8 seed, who defeated Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-0, 6-3 in just 56 minutes. The Ukrainians have had a frosty relationship with players from Russia and Belarus since the start of the war.
During an emotional on-court interview after the match, a teary-eyed Kostyuk dedicated her victory to the people of Ukraine. She will be making her first appearance in a Grand Slam semifinal.
“I want to start with this historic match that we played today with Elina,” she said. “We had a very difficult night again in Ukraine, especially in Kyiv. So many people dead. I want to give this match to Ukrainian people and to their resilience.”
Svitolina was attempting to reach the semifinals in Paris for the first time but fell to 0-6 in quarterfinals there. After winning the clay-court Italian Open — one of two titles this season — she could have been considered a favorite.
But Kostyuk has been unflappable on clay this season, winning 17 consecutive matches and two titles. She defeated No. 3 seed and four-time champion Iga Swiatek to reach her first quarterfinal.
In the first set, five of the nine games went to deuce, with Kostyuk prevailing in all five. In the second set, Svitolina became the aggressor and won a marathon final game with a service break.
And in the decider, the 23-year-old Kostyuk showed her speed against Svitolina, who faded at the end. With the set tied at two games each, Kostyuk won 16 of the next 19 points to close out the match.
Andreeva, 19, will be playing in her second Grand Slam semifinal — both in Paris. She said she had a terrific warm-up on Tuesday that carried over into the match.
“Usually when you have an amazing warmup, you don’t play the same way during the match. But, I don’t know, I just found myself being very, very focused, very aggressive, going for my shots all the time,” she said. “I don’t know what happened, but I was just, like, in the zone, I guess. Sorana is, as I said, a very tough opponent to play against, so I’m just happy about the win today.”
Cirstea had just four winners against 18 unforced errors, and Andreeva converted all six break opportunities.
–Field Level Media
