The guest match turned in favor of Elina Svitolina, 76th in the world, who eliminated five-time winner Venus Williams (558th) 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of Wimbledon on Monday. The Ukrainian, semi-finalist in 2019, will face the Belgian Elise Mertens (28th) in the second round.
The match between Svitolina and the eldest of the Williams sisters (43) was marred by two incidents. From the start of the game, when she had made the break and led 2-0, Williams hurt her right knee which she had wrapped in a band. After screaming, she collapsed to the ground near the net as Svitolina broke.
The American managed to get up and go back to her chair where she was manipulated before resuming the game. But she again lost her face-off to allow the Ukrainian to lead 3-2 and conclude the set despite two break points. And on the match point, a backhand from the Ukrainian announced foul was finally converted into a winning point after recourse to video arbitration, provoking a smile of disdain from Williams. The American nevertheless left the Center Court under the ovation of the public.
