Wimbledon 2023: Azarenka fumes at 'drunk fans' after Svitolina defeat

By James Toney at Wimbledon

Victoria Azarenka slammed 'drunk tennis fans' after being booed off court at Wimbledon.

Belarusian Azarenka lost an instant classic to Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who had made it clear she had no intention of shaking her rivals hand because of her nation's support of the Russian invasion of her homeland.

She duly left the court to a chorus of boos after Svitolina progressed 2-6 6-4 7-6 in a thriller, the only shame the quality of the match will be overshadowed by the drama that followed it.

"I think it was very unfair," said Azarenka.

"I think people are picking on things and making a big story out of it. I've always had a good relationship with her but these circumstances, it is what it is.

"I can't control the crowd, I think there's been a lot of drinking throughout the day but what can I do?

"I've not done anything wrong but I get this treatment, she doesn't want to shake hands with Russian or Belarusian people and I respect that decision. I just did what I thought was respectful for her decision and left the court.

"It was a great tennis match and people shouldn't be focused on a drunk crowd."

This match promised to be a rollercoaster - packed with SW19 subplots - and it didn't disappoint. If Azarenka was left blinking back the tears behind her sunglasses, Svitolina was giddy with excitement.

Married to French star Gaël Monfils, she gave birth to daughter Skaï last October and was given an All England Club wildcard after her run to the French Open quarter-finals.

Azarenka is one of the nicest people in tennis but as the atmosphere crackled on No. 1 Court, there was no doubt who the crowd were pulling for, unlike at the recent French Open were Svitolina was booed for not congratulating Russia's Daria Kasatkina.

Momentum repeatedly swayed between both players, the decisive tie-break settled 11-9.

"After giving birth to my daughter, this is the second happiest moment in my life," said Svitolina.

"It was an extremely tough match but when I was behind I felt the cheering for me and I wanted to cry, I so badly wanted to win.

"The crowd gave me the strength I needed, I don't know how I got it done. There are lots of people back home watching and cheering for me, this was for them, I know how much it means.

"If I can help them have just a brief moment of happiness, because there are such tough times in Ukraine, that means the world to me."

Iga Świątek survived a mighty scare to keep her Wimbledon campaign on track - and will take on Svitolina for the place in the semi-finals.

The top seed always knew Belinda Bencic was going to pose a serious test, after Świątek had breezed through her opening three games at the All England Club dropping just 13 games.

And so it proved, the number 14 seed from Switzerland spurning to match points before her Polish rival closed out the 6-7 7-6 6-3 win.

Świątek is some talent and she becomes the youngest woman since Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the last four in every major tournament.

Remarkably, just to underline her dominance, this was the first match of her professional career - 312 matches and counting - where she's faced two tie-breaks.

"When you're match points down you play with a bit more freedom, you're in the worst position and you've nothing to lose," said Świątek.

"I always feel the player with the match point has the pressure on them.

"It wasn't easy and I don't think I've ever come back from that position before in my career. I needed that match and I was determined to play without regrets."

Teenage qualifier Mirra Andreeva's fairytale run continued with a third round win over Anastasia Potapova, making her the youngest player to reach the last 16 of Wimbledon since Coco Gauff in 2019.

And parallels with Emma Raducanu's US Open victory in 2021 were quickly, if a little unfairly drawn, for the 16-year-old from Moscow.

"Of course, in 2021 Emma did amazing job," she said. "Everyone was impressed, getting through the qualifiers and winning a slam at 18, it was amazing.

"But me, I just try to not think about it. I think it will disturb me, all these thoughts. I just try to play every match and don't think how far I have gone already or which round I'm playing, against who I'm playing."