“All the bonuses I earn here will go to the army, so thank you for the support”, she declared very moved, to the applause of the public, after her easy victory (6-1, 6-2) against the 20-year-old Russian, 81st in the world.
The serious face, the seeded number 1 several times brought his right hand to the heart after his victory. The Ukrainian and the Russian exchanged formal greetings at the end of the match.
The Ukrainian, 15th in the world, had initially considered boycotting her match to protest against the invasion of her country by Moscow. Svitolina had warned on Monday that she would refuse to play against Russians or players from Belarus, unless they sported neutral colours.
The ATP and WTA said in a statement that Russians and Belarusians could continue to participate in tournaments, but “not under the flag” of their country “until further notice”.
Russia has been the subject of a large number of sporting sanctions since the entry of its troops into Ukraine on Thursday, including the exclusion of the qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup.