Wimbledon 2019: Elina Svitolina says second round victory over Margarita Gasparyan ‘wasn’t nice’

Gasparyan had been on the verge of an upset, two points from the match at 5-4 in the second, but Svitolina held and her opponent was then injured

Eighth-seeded Elina Svitolina has admitted that her second round victory over Margarita Gasparyan “wasn’t nice”, after the Russian was forced to retire injured while leading the match.

Gasparyan was leading 7-5, 5-6 when she was forced to quit.

The 24-year-old had been on the verge of an upset, two points from the match at 5-4 in the second, but Svitolina held and her opponent was then injured after delivering a serve at 0-15 in the next game.

She clutched her left thigh in pain and then remained lying on the baseline for several minutes getting treatment from physical therapist, with Svitolina also coming over to bring her opponent water.

Gasparyan, who has had three surgeries on her left knee since her last Wimbledon appearance in 2016, eventually got back up but was broken and then retired during the next game.

“Well, honestly, I was a little bit shocked,” Svitolina said when asked for her reaction to her unorthodox victory. “Yeah, it's never nice to get this when someone is injured like that. It puts you a little bit off.

“I mean, at the end we'd expect that she would go and play. Yeah, it happened that way and really unfortunate for her.

“I gave her some water, because I know when there is cramps you need to drink lots of water. Your muscles are contracting. So it's important just to drink lots of fluids.

“So that's why I gave her some water, because no one really did anything. I mean, we were trying to help, but, yeah, it's tough to react straightaway.”

It's only the second time in eight appearances that Svitolina has reached the third round at the All England Club. Her best result was reaching the fourth round in 2017.