ITF

14 The next season brought five WTA titles and a surge into the top 10, while the latter stages of Grand Slams and the upper echelons of the sport have been her playground ever since. The significance of that Williams tussle is not lost on Svitolina. "Serena is a great champion and it's always a pleasure to play against her," said Svitolina, who was born two years before her childhood tennis idol, Andre Agassi, triumphed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. "For me, playing against her at that time was really a big achievement and I remember it being an incredible atmosphere. Beating her was something unbelievable. "It definitely gave me a push of confidence and it was an unbelievable moment for me in that time. It was also a big step because I had been playing against top 10 players but playing against Serena is something different and something special. "Beating her definitely gave me that little push forward and showed me that I can play well throughout a match and be more consistent in my game against top players, which is where I was looking to improve. "I have had to work really hard to achieve what I have now but, in that time, it was something special and something that really helped me in my career and is a highlight. "At the same time, I have had to build with lots of good results, lots of wins, lots of trophies. For sure, I have had some good years and needed to keep working hard to achieve more, but it was an important push." It was not just her on-court exploits in Rio, however, which Svitolina believes paved the way for what has followed. Mingling with the stars, picking the brains of other sporting personalities and observing their practices all helped mould an aspiring Olympian. "It was an amazing experience," she added. "For me, it was my first time and to see so many athletes from different sports, with different preparations and the different mindsets of everyone was a big motivation. "It was a goal of everyone to get a medal and everyone strives to be the best. To see so many athletes being extremely professional was definitely an inspiration and I took away a lot of things which motivated me and pushed me to go for more. "It was my dream to meet Usain Bolt and I saw him in Rio and Michael Phelps also. I was lucky to meet a lot of big names and athletes there and it was a big moment for me." Even though Svitolina has experienced much personal glory and Olympic success would undoubtedly represent Right Celebra ng a victory at Roland Garros in 2018 Below Signing autographs while on na onal duty with Ukraine Le Alongside Irina Khromacheva, Serena Williams and Kristyna Pliskova at the 2010 Junior Championships at Wimbledon Below Le Svitolina was crowned 2010 Roland Garros girls' champion WATC H M O R E WATC H M O R E

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