Elina Svitolina reacts to winning bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics

Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina was disappointed after losing in the Tokyo Olympics semifinal but she is happy that he managed to regroup for the bronze medal match. 

Svitolina, seeded at No. 4, recovered from a set down to beat Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina 1-6 7-6 (5) 6-4 and win her maiden Olympic medal.

In the semifinal, Svitolina stood no chance against Marketa Vondrousova as the Czech claimed a 6-3 6-1 win. 

“Coming here, for sure my goal was to win a gold medal, and it was extremely tough to lose in the semi-finals and then try to regroup and come again against a top player who is playing really good,” Svitolina said, per the ITF website. 

“To win such a big battle for the bronze medal definitely means the world to me. Everyone in Ukraine is watching – we don’t win so many medals, you know – so for sure, it’s very special for me and for Ukraine.”

Svitolina happy with bronze medal 

“I hoped to win an Olympic medal for my country – and that’s not easy," Svitolina said. "All of the competitors were fighting, all of the matches were tough battles – this is what you expect at the Olympics, right? I was upset to have lost in the semi-finals but now I’m happy having won the bronze. I’m really proud of myself this week, and winning bronze crowns it for sure.”

Rybakina was up by a set and a break but failed to close out the match. 

"I was up many moments, and it's not easy," Rybakina said. "Every time you are up and then the person is coming back. She was fighting too. She wanted to win so bad, every point was tough.

"Every match was good for me. I really gave everything I could, I spent a lot of energy here. But I think it's good for my future."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3idP2WT