In the first round of the prestigious Wimbledon tournament, a significant showdown between two representatives of Ukraine is set to take place. 24-year-old Daria Snigur, ranked 78th in the world, has been drawn against the country's top player, Elina Svitolina, who currently holds the 8th position in the WTA rankings.
Daria Snigur provided an exclusive comment to RBC-Ukraine regarding the upcoming match. The athlete acknowledges that the draw was not easy and is preparing for a tough battle against the leader of the national team.
"The draw is indeed tough, considering she is a top-10 player. But it has happened, so I need to step out and play. Although I understand that the match will be difficult for me," Snigur noted.
Snigur's Form on Grass
Before the start of the London tournament, the Ukrainian played a series of matches on grass courts. In 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, Daria showed confident play, defeating Paula Badosa in two sets (6:1, 7:6) and Deka Udvardy (6:4, 3:6, 6:4). However, in the quarterfinals, she lost to the eventual tournament winner, Robin Montgomery, with a score of 4:6, 4:6.
At the Eastbourne tournament, Snigur successfully passed the first two rounds of the qualifying stage, securing victories over Sofia Kenin (6:3, 6:1) and Petra Marcinko (6:4, 6:2). In the qualifying final, she lost to her compatriot Angelina Kalinina (6:7, 5:7).
Svitolina's Condition
Elina Svitolina missed the tournament in Bad Gastein due to injuries. The athlete herself noted that she needed a few days of rest before the start of Wimbledon and emphasized that the injury is not critical.
Last time Elina stepped onto the court was at the WTA 500 tournament in Berlin. There, she defeated Anna Kalinskaya and Eva Lys, but suffered a defeat in the quarterfinals against Alexandra Eala from the Philippines.
The Svitolina-Snigur pairing has become one of the main intrigues of the Wimbledon draw for Ukrainian tennis. Earlier, opponents for five other Ukrainian representatives at this tournament were determined.