She then claimed the crowd had booed because they were drunk. She subsequently argued she had only not come to the net because she knew Svitolina would not shake her hand anyway. It seems, however, that Azarenka was jeered for a failure of protocol, not her nationality. Azarenka, the Belarusian, was beaten by the Ukrainian and then appeared to be booed by the crowd for failing to come to the net to shake Svitolina’s hand. The one openly political moment came at the end of the fourth round match between Elina Svitolina and Victoria Azarenka. It is possible to debate whether this charm offensive was a happy accident and, if not, what motivated it was it individuals trying to detoxify the reputation of their country, or just athletes happy to be back at a prestigious tournament? Whatever the reason, the conclusion anyone watching would draw is that there was a bunch of bouncing, smiling individuals who just happened to be from Russia or Belarus, pretty much every time they turned on the television. Andreeva blushed when asked about an apparent admiration for Andy Murray.Īryna Sabalenka called on Wimbledon authorities to make sure Russian and Belarusian players were protected from hatred. Rublev, meanwhile, was courteous in his remarks and conscientious in signing autographs for fans. Medvedev, whose reputation is that of a hothead, has been winningly goofy, transparently trying to endear himself to the No 1 Court crowd who followed him from first round to quarter-final (“For different reasons it could be possible that the reception would not be as great as it was,” was how he put it). In engagements with fans and the media at Wimbledon this year, Russian stars have been charm personified. Success was extensive on court, then, but not limited to it.

Finally, the cherry on top: Mirra Andreeva, the 16-year-old qualifier who became a 48-hour sensation after knocking out two seeds en route to the fourth round. Roman Safiullin, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Daria Kasatkina, lesser-known Russians, all recorded personal best performances at the home of tennis. Medvedev has surpassed all his previous efforts on grass but so too did Andrey Rublev, who also served up perhaps the shot of the tournament when he found a winner while practically supine behind the baseline against Alexander Bublik. On-court success extended beyond representation in the later stages.

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