Elina Svitolina's inspired run at Wimbledon, where she advanced to her second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, has not come without a cost.
The 28-year-old Ukrainian has navigated the toughest draw of any player at this year's Championships, defeating five-time champion Venus Williams in the first round, 28th seed Elise Mertens in the second, 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and former No.1 Victoria Azarenka. And that was all to make just the second Wimbledon quarterfinal of her career.
Wimbledon: Scores | Draws | Order of play
But her progress through the tournament meant letting go of her tickets to see Harry Styles in Vienna on Saturday night. Styles is on the tail end of his European tour and Svitolina was hoping to see one of her favorite musicians while still had the chance, but she was a little bit busy preparing for her match against Azarenka.
That preparation paid off. Svitolina had never beaten Azarenka before Sunday. She ended up turning the match around from a seemingly impossible situation, rallying from a set and a break down to beat the two-time major champion in a match-tiebreak.
Svitolina's stirring comeback stops Azarenka in Wimbledon thriller
"I hope Harry Styles is watching 🫶" 😂
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 9, 2023
Elina Svitolina had to sell her tickets so she could play tonight, sorry @Harry_Styles !#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/BB1vtXfC5O
Styles was indeed watching. The pop star chimed in with a standing offer for the former World No.3.
"Congratulations!" Styles wrote on Instagram. "We have four shows to go, you’re welcome at any of them. Good luck with the rest of the tournament."