Power couple: Svitolina, Monfils both still standing in Australian Open

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Elina Svitolina credits the support of husband Gael Monfils as they both reach the fourth round of the Australian Open

Elina Svitolina said the supportive presence of husband Gael Monfils meant a lot after the tennis power couple made shockwaves in sync at the Australian Open on Saturday, knocking out the women’s and men’s fourth seeds as they both reached the last 16 of the singles.

Monfils was in the stands when Ukrainian 28th seed Svitolina defeated Jasmine Paolini, 2-6, 6-4, 6-0, after the Frenchman had stunned Taylor Fritz, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-4, earlier in the day on the same Margaret Court Arena.

“Most of the big tournaments we have each other by our sides. It means a lot to us to have someone who understands what we are going through. Yeah, it’s a really nice feeling for me personally,” Svitolina told reporters.

“I don’t know how it is for other players. For me personally, it is nice when you come back to your room, you have a little chat about the matches, about the upcoming matches.”

Svitolina said the couple, who have a two-year-old daughter, switched off from tennis when they went back home, preferring to enjoy time as a family.

“It’s a really unique connection that we have. I’m really happy the way that we’ve been dealing with these things… it’s really a great day for us today, beating top-four players and playing great tennis,” she added.

Svitolina said she was impressed with the way Monfils, 38, had overcome Fritz, who is 11 years younger than him.

“I know that he really wanted this match to go his way… wanted to really take it on, you know, to take on Taylor,” the 30-year-old said.

“Gael, I feel like with you guys all the time mentioning his age, he feels that he still has a lot of energy in his tank. He wants to prove it. He wants to bring the battle. Yeah, he did it really impressively today.”

Svitolina plays Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova in the fourth round, while Monfils will face American 21st seed Ben Shelton. – Rappler.com