"I can't say I played super well, but it was enough to win," Svitolina said after her victory against Sasnovich at Wimbledon

While many seeded players have been prematurely eliminated in the early stages of the Wimbledon tournament, Elina Svitolina continues to quietly advance in the London Grand Slam.

After her opening win against Anna Bondar (6-3, 6-1), the Ukrainian, ranked 13th in the world, defeated Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich (6-2, 6-4) and will face Elise Mertens for a spot in the second week.

Following the match, the two-time semifinalist at this tournament (2019 and 2023) reflected on her victory against the world No. 107, in a match where conditions were not ideal according to her.

"I wouldn’t say everything was so bad. But today, the conditions were very tough. First, we had to switch courts from what was originally planned.

Second, the sun on one side of the court completely blinded me—I couldn’t even see the lines. I can’t say I played super well, but it was enough to win.

Before the match, I hadn’t noticed that I was trailing 2-1 against her in our head-to-head. But I remembered our last meeting. It was in Madrid in 2023, when I had just returned to the tour after pregnancy and wasn’t in form.

Still, she beat me, and I wanted revenge for that match," Svitolina told Tribuna. In the next round, she will face Mertens, whom the Ukrainian defeated last week in the first round of the WTA 500 tournament in Bad Homburg.