TOKYO: Elina Svitolina became Ukraine’s first Olympic medallist in tennis today, securing bronze by coming from a set and a break down to beat Kazakh Elena Rybakina.
The 26-year-old, who got married to French player Gael Monfils shortly before the Tokyo Games, won the bronze-medal contest 1-6, 7-6(7/5), 6-4 after almost two-and-a-half hours on court.
Svitolina, a former world No 3, came through a lengthy final game to win on her seventh match point.
She had trailed 4-1 in the deciding set but reeled off five games in a row to snatch the victory.
Marketa Vondrousova, who beat Svitolina in the semifinals and home favourite Naomi Osaka in the third round, takes on Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in the final later today.