Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina (WTA 144) commented on the victory over Clara Burel (France, WTA 122) in the match of the 1/2 finals of the clay tournament of the WTA 250 series in Strasbourg (France):
“Definitely, it was a tough battle, Clara played very well. It was very difficult, I lost 1:4 in the second set, there were problems in the game, and you have to give credit to Clara, because she played a great match. I knew she was good at using cropped ones. I tried to get to every ball, but sometimes you just have to applaud your opponent for her skill and move on. I tried to win as many points as possible and eventually won.
It took me a lot of effort to win this match. I had to fight and I left all my strength on the court. There were a lot of fans in the stands, so I tried to show good tennis. I was a little ashamed because of my level, I tried to raise it a little, to show the best tennis. I knew that the audience would cheer for Clara, but thank you for supporting me too.
How would I rate this match? For the fight, I would give myself a 10, and for the performance itself, given the unstable game, a solid 6. I hope that tomorrow my tennis will be better and you will cheer for me a little more. Of course, I’m glad to be in the final, especially in this tournament. I have played many tournaments in my career and I enjoyed playing here. I am grateful to the organizers that they provided me with a wild card and gave me the opportunity to return here. Now there is another final ahead, I will try to prepare and be ready to fight.”
In the final of the tournament in Strasbourg, Elina will play with Anna Blinkova.
Strasbourg 💙 Svitolina@WTA_Strasbourg pic.twitter.com/z6CIKeB9z6
— wta (@WTA) May 26, 2023
