Elina Svitolina is admirably caught asking the referee if her husband Gael Monfils had started playing halfway through her own win against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
- Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils have been married since 2021
- And the Ukrainian was interested in her husband’s match during her own match
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Elina Svitolina found an unorthodox source of inspiration on Thursday when she chased Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the US Open.
After dropping the first set 5-7, the Ukrainian got into a conversation with the referee during the substitution.
But the world No. 26 was actually completely focused on another match, when she asked the referee if her husband Gael Monfils had started playing against Andrey Rublev.
Svitolina would come back to win the game 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 and then talk about what she was trying to achieve with her unusual question.
“I was just trying to get a little motivation from him. I know he plays there,” Svitolina told the Open’s internal media after the match.
Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils share a kiss at this year’s DC Open in late July
Svitolina asked the referee if her husband had started playing during her own game
Monfils lost on Thursday as his wife Svitolina advanced to the third round of the Open
‘Just changing my head a bit, I wasn’t playing at my best, I had to bring a different energy.
Svitolina and Monfils have been married since 2021 and share a daughter together, Skai.
Monfils, who has won 11 career titles, was asked after his own match if he had seen his wife’s heartwarming clip.
“I didn’t see it,” he said. ‘For me,’ I asked. She was 5-3 in the third set.
“We both like to know that everything is going well.”
As Svitolina went into the second round, Monfils was knocked out by Rublev in four sets.
She will play in the next round against the winner of Jessica Pegula and Patricia Maria Tig.
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