Svitolina wins Ukraine's first Olympic tennis medal
Last updated on: 31 July,2021 05:51 pm
Svitolina wins Ukraine's first Olympic tennis medal
TOKYO (AFP) - Elina Svitolina became Ukraine s first Olympic medallist in tennis on Saturday, securing bronze by coming from a set and a break down to beat Kazakh Elena Rybakina.
The 26-year-old, who got married to French player Gael Monfils shortly before the Tokyo Games, won the bronze-medal contest 1-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 after almost two-and-a-half hours on court.
Svitolina, a former world number three, came through a lengthy final game to win on her seventh match point.
She had trailed 4-1 in the deciding set but reeled off five games in a row to snatch the victory.
Marketa Vondrousova, who beat Svitolina in the semi-finals and home favourite Naomi Osaka in the third round, takes on Switzerland s Belinda Bencic in the final later on Saturday.