Nearly two hours into her second quarter-final in as many majors back after maternity leave, Elina Svitolina had done everything she could. Faced with the challenge of containing the best player in the world, the Ukrainian worked Iga Swiatek like the veteran she is, pressuring her in the decisive moments and offering up minimal mistakes. But as she led 4-1 in the second‑set tie-break, the Pole pulled off a remarkable escape.

Still, Svitolina never panicked. Over the course of her 13-year career she has won nearly 450 matches and beaten the best players of her era. There is nothing she knows more about in this world than how to battle through a tennis match with grit and determination, and she used her vast experience to recover: 41 minutes later, the 28-year-old pulled off one of the best wins of her career by defeating the top seed 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2 to return to the Wimbledon semi-finals, which she last graced in 2019, when she lost to Simona Halep.

So soon into this delirious comeback the wildcard has now equalled her best showing at a grand slam and this enormous win marks her first victory against a top-eight player at one of the year’s majors. She will next face Marketa Vondrousova, who defeated Jessica Pegula, the fourth seed, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.

“At the beginning of the tournament, if someone would have told me that I was gonna be in the semi‑final and beat the world No 1, I would say that they’re crazy,” Svitolina said.

The pair had reached the last eight after being the main protagonists in one of the most spectacular days of tennis this year. In Swiatek’s fourth‑round match against Belinda Bencic, the No 14 seed, the former survived after facing two match points. At that same moment, Svitolina was deep into a brutal battle with Victoria Azarenka, eventually fighting back from 4-7 down in the third-set tie‑break before sealing the victory with an ace.

While the Pole led by a break here for much of the first set, she never looked comfortable and she struggled to control her leaking forehand. When she attempted to serve out the first set, Svitolina sensed that her opponent was vulnerable and pounced, moving closer to the baseline and attacking. The No 1 seed instantly crumbled. From 5-3 up, Swiatek conceded the final four games of the set, largely in a shower of forehand errors. During the break at the set’s end, the roof was closed as rain began to fall.

After the 22-year-old Pole barely hung on in the second set to force a tie‑break, Svitolina then took control of it, slamming down an ace to lead 4-1. With her back to the wall, the winner of four slams responded with a brilliant last stand, demolishing her groundstrokes as she struck five winners in the last seven points to force a third set.

World No 1 Iga Swiatek shows grit but is overpowered on Centre Court. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

After such a big missed opportunity many great players would have fallen away, but Svitolina immediately shrugged off her disappointment. She saved her best tennis for that decisive set, counterpunching brilliantly while also serving well and stepping inside the baseline to play the type of fearless, attacking tennis that had eluded her in her youth. She broke serve twice in the third set before effortlessly serving out a monumental victory.

“I don’t know what is happening right now in my head,” she said courtside immediately after the match.

With the victory, one of the most spectacular recent comebacks continues. Since giving birth in October to her daughter, Skaï, she has returned refreshed, playing with a level of freedom that she simply could not draw upon at her previous peak.

Throughout her career, the Ukrainian was known to struggle at the grand slams, even as she reached No 3 and racked up WTA 1000 titles against the very same players all year. She already looks even better than at her peak.

“It’s different right now,” the wildcard said. “Right now I just say to myself I think it’s less years that I have in front than behind me. I have to go for it. I don’t have time to lose any more. I don’t know how many years I will be playing.”

That shift is evident in her style of play, still a defence-first counterpuncher who patiently waits for her opportunities to attack, but a player who is completely unafraid to attack when those opportunities arise. It is even reflected in the way she marches around the court during these matches, always on a mission.

At the beginning of the tournament, she explained she spends every moment off the court monitoring the situation in Ukraine, checking in on the well-being of her family, friends and her foundation’s work, that every day is a heavy day for her.

Still, she has been able to channel these difficulties into her tennis, each decision on the court imbued with an even greater meaning, and even at a time of war for her compatriots, she keeps on moving forward.