Marta Kostyuk made history for Ukraine as she became their first player to reach the singles quarterfinal at the Olympic Games after a marathon match against Greece’s Maria Sakkari. She fought an uphill battle throughout the match, having lost the first set 4-6.
She then had to dig deep in the second set which went to a tiebreak. After coming through 7-5 in the tiebreak, the Ukrainian carried the momentum into the final set and triumphed 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. The win was emotional for Marta Kostyuk, who has been actively involved in spreading awareness about the Russia-Ukraine war.
The emotions were on full display after she managed an upset against the world no.8 to book her place in the last eight. She burst into tears after securing the final point of the match, displaying what it meant to her. In a show of excitement, the 22-year-old fell to the ground, not bothered about the red dirt sticking to her.
1st Olympic Quarterfinals
6th Top 10 win in 2024
