“The war made me stronger, including mentally. I no longer view difficult times as disasters. There are worse things in life. I am calmer. And as I have just resumed competition (in April after giving birth in October, editor’s note), the pressure is not the same, ”she said after her feat against Iga Swiatek. “Obviously I want to win. I have this motivation, this enormous motivation, to return to the highest level. But I think that having had a child, and with the war, I became a different person. I see things a little differently,” added the former 3rd player in the world who plays at Wimbledon as 76th.
She has reached the Grand Slam semi-finals twice in her career, at WImbledon and the US Open in 2019, without reaching the final. The 28-year-old explained that she approached matches differently than at the time, which allowed her to play very aggressively throughout the match ultimately won against Swiatek. “I tell myself that I have fewer years left in front of me than I have behind, so I have to go all out. I have no more time to waste. We train for these great moments, ”she said. “Today I was walking down the hall to enter Center Court and you see the whole history of this tournament. We realize that’s what we train for. So I said to myself at that moment: get on the court do your best and go get the win, ”she said.
