"It was emotionally difficult," admits Yastremska despite her qualification for Wimbledon's third round

Dayana Yastremska has reached Wimbledon's third round for the second consecutive year. The Ukrainian, ranked 42nd in the world, backed up her prestigious first-round win against world No. 2 Coco Gauff (7-6, 6-1) with a harder-fought victory over Anastasia Zakharova.

The Russian, who had eliminated Victoria Azarenka in the first round, even led 7-5, 5-3 in this match. But Yastremska refused to give up and ultimately triumphed in a nail-biting finish (5-7, 7-5, 7-6 in 2 hours and 32 minutes). The 25-year-old, who will face Jessica Bouzas Maneiro for a spot in the round of 16, reflected on her hard-earned win against Zakharova.

"It was emotionally difficult. When you play against Russian players, the feeling is completely different—you want to win even more. It adds motivation, but at the same time, it makes you a bit nervous inside.

When I led 3-0 in the third set, I was playing well, but the match turned into a real battle. She was also handling things well at that point. She started hitting the ball even harder, and somehow, she clawed her way back.

I wouldn’t say I dropped my level—maybe I was a little tired at that stage, and in the end, it all came down to the finest margins. I have to say there’s a huge difference between Court 1 and Court 14.

First, the roof, of course, but also the grass. It felt like the surface was faster on the other court. You really notice the difference," Yastremska explained to Tribuna after her victory.