The Daily Serve: All the key moments and highlights of Day 9 from Melbourne Park 

She paid tribute to the “spirit of Ukraine” after her fourth-round win at the Aus Open and Elina Svitolina says she is willing to do almost anything to beat a Russian foe as the countries continue to wage war.

Ukrainian No. 28 seed Elina Svitolina has declared she is willing to “almost die on court” in order to beat a Russian opponent after she stormed into the quarterfinals at the Australian Open for the third time.

As Svitolina paid tribute to the “spirit of Ukraine” after her straight sets victory over Russian Veronika Kudermetova on Rod Laver Arena, the 30-year-old said it was unlikely she would change her stance on not shaking the hand of Russian opponents.

Svitolina charged through the second set to take a 6-4 6-1 win against unseeded Kudermetova to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019.

🇺🇦Elina Svitolina sent a message to Ukraine after her win over 🏳️Veronika Kudermetova at the Australian Open:

"The Spirit of Ukraine ❤️," she wrote on the camera. pic.twitter.com/zDyinuTNqs

— Ukrainian Tennis • BTU (@ukrtennis_eng) January 20, 2025

There was no handshake with her Russian opponent after the match as she signed “the spirit of Ukraine” with a love heart into the camera lens after her win.

The fourth round victory continued Svitolina’s unbeaten 7-0 record against Russian players since the start of the war.

Svitolina later said she felt extra motivation playing against a Russian opponent.

“It’s just I feel the spirit is different. I’m really, really putting everything out there,” Svitolina said after her fourth-round win.

“I feel like I put all my energy there. If I’m not going to win, but I’m going to almost die on the court. I’m not going to let her win that easy.

“So I feel like this fighting spirit is really pulling me through these matches. As I mentioned, it’s just the associations that me personally I have with this country.

“It’s very painful and very tough on my heart. So, of course, I have an extra motivation for this.”

Svitolina and her Russian opponent did not shake hands after the clash. Picture: Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP

Ukrainian and Russian rivals avoiding handshakes at the end of matches has been common practice since the start of the war between the two nations.

Svitolina said her stance on shaking the hand of Russian opponents was unlikely to change.

“Adding to my feeling that I have and association with this country, for me, to be fair, I don’t really see it happening because it’s just a terrible, terrible feeling,” Svitolina said.

“I not wish to anyone to ever experience this.

“To wake up to the news of when your friends die on the front line, been killed by Russian soldier, it’s something that really, really heavy on my heart.”

Svitolina said she felt a responsibility to remind people about the war in the Ukraine and to try and “bring a little light” to the people of her homeland.

“As an athlete, as one of the top athletes of Ukraine, I feel like I should use my platforms, I should use my voice at the maximum that I can to raise awareness, to raise funds for multiple different kind of directions of what our Ukrainian people are in need,” Svitolina said.

“I feel like sometimes people, they forget that there’s still the war, that we still need help.

“For me (it’s) very important to show the resilience, to show that I’m here to fight no matter what, and I want to represent this spirit.”

Elina Svitolina against Russian players since the start of Russian invasion of Ukraine:

7 wins.
0 losses. pic.twitter.com/lreSrJSDrs

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 20, 2025

Svitolina will now meet American No. 19 seed Madison Keys in the quarterfinals.

She said it felt like a “lifetime” since her last quarterfinal appearance in Melbourne, having since welcomed two-year-old daughter, Skai, with husband, French veteran Gael Monfils.

“It was a long time ago (the last quarterfinal appearance in Melbourne). I feel like it was a lifetime ago,” Svitolina said after her win on Monday.

“Having our daughter, Skai, and then (foot) surgery as well. Many things happen and I am really pleased with the performance throughout this tournament.

“I am just really enjoying this win today.”

Svitolina clawed back from 1-4 down in the first set, winning five straight games to close out the opening set in 50 minutes.

EYES ON THE GROUND

WHAT THE VLOG

Tennis tragics, if you haven’t yet heeded Daria Kasatkina’s call to check out her YouTube channel ‘What the Vlog’, take this as your sign to do so.

On Saturday the Russian quickly plugged her channel in the on-court interview following her straight sets win over good friend Yulia Putintseva in the third round.

To anyone eager for a peek behind the curtain of life as a professional tennis player, Kasatkina does a fantastic job of painting the picture with a fun twist.

Her lighthearted series of vlogs, filmed and edited alongside her girlfriend and Olympic figure skater, Natalia Zabiiako, take viewers behind the scenes of the tournaments she competes in around the world throughout the year.

From time in airports, navigating foreign cities and hotels, to the bowels of the biggest tennis stadiums in the world, almost nothing is off limits.

Kasatkina is one of the most beloved players on the WTA tour and it is easy to see why from her vlogs, as she regularly brings in fellow WTA and ATP players for practice sessions and quirky interviews.

Already her exploits in Brisbane and Adelaide are on YouTube for fans to enjoy and no doubt an Australian Open vlog will soon follow.

It is a great opportunity for fans to learn a little more about life as a touring tennis star – and the true personalities of some of their favourite players.

DABROWSKI’S FIGHT CONTINUES

They just keep doing it the hard way.

Breast cancer survivor Gabriela Dabrowski and her partner Erin Routliffe are moving on to the final eight of the women’s doubles at Melbourne Park.

A back-and-forth clash saw the second seeded pair eventually triumph over Beatriz Haddad Maia and Laura Siegemund 6-7 (5) 6-3 6-4.

Dabrowski spoke of her journey after the first round, having only weeks ago revealed that she had secretly been battling cancer throughout 2024 — winning Olympic bronze and the WTA Finals doubles event with Routliffe alongside having treatment.

Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe (L) are moving on. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Monday marked the third round running that the pair have dropped the first set to fight back and win each respective match in three, with Dabrowski saying an improvement in her serve had — pardon the pun — served them well in their resurgence.

“I think I served a little bit better (after the first set), the sun was really tricky,” Dabrowski said.

“Luckily, it moved a little bit to the left, and then I could see a bit better.

“So my serve speed went up and that helped us hold a little bit easier. I think we stayed committed to being aggressive, even sometimes when it didn’t work, it was still the right play and in the end it paid off.”

Originally published as The Daily Serve: All the key moments and highlights of Day 9 from Melbourne Park