Wimbledon fans boo Victoria Azarenka after frosty ending to Elina Svitolina loss

Svitolina and Azarenka gave the Court 1 crowd a night to remember with a two-hour-and-46-minute battle that saw the world No 76 come from a set and a break down to oust the 19th seed 2-6 6-4 7-6(9) after an enthralling final-set tiebreak. The fans were pulling for the Ukrainian throughout and made their feelings about Azarenka clear at the conclusion of the match.

The 33-year-old was booed off court as she looked bemused, sarcastically smiling and shaking her head. And Azarenka made a gesture in response to the jeers, putting her fists together above her head.

Azarenka’s clash against the former world No 3 was always set to have some tension bubbling under the surface, as she hails from Belarus while Svitolina is from Ukraine – and has even become an ambassador for UNITED24 – the main venue for collecting charitable donations in support of her nation.

And it seems the Court 1 fans were on Svitolina’s side as they gave her opponent a frosty farewell to end the night. With her win, the Ukrainian has now reached back-to-back Grand Slam quarter-finals. And the results have even more significance as she gave birth in October and only returned to the circuit in April.

Speaking after the match, the 28-year-old said it was one of the best moments of her life after giving birth to her daughter Skai. “After giving birth to our daughter, this is the second-happiest moment in my life,” she told the loud fans.

The world No 76 – who has also already won a title since giving birth – also sent a heartfelt message to Ukraine. “I was just thinking, back home there are a lot of people cheering for me,” Svitolina said.