Upset Victory Is for Ukraine

It took a bit for Daria Snigur to grasp what she'd just accomplished. "When I was in the moment, I didn't understand what happened," she said after her US Open match Monday, the New York Times reports. The Ukrainian, No. 124 in the world, had just beaten Simona Halep of Romania, the seventh seed in the tennis tournament and a two-time Grand Slam singles champion. Snigur burst into tears when she won, then fought back more when first asked what the victory meant to her family and embattled homeland. "No comment, I think, because it's impossible for me now," she said, per the AP.

Snigur's mother is in Kyiv, but her father was in the stands having the same issue. "My father didn't understand, too," Snigur said. She wore a yellow-and-blue ribbon in honor of Ukraine for the opening-round, 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 upset. And the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York performed Monday at the Open. Snigur said she'd been training in Latvia because Russian forces bombed the place where she trained in Ukraine. "Sometimes it’s impossible to play, but I try to do my best," Snigur said. "I try to do the best for Ukraine. I try to support my country." (More US Open Tennis stories.)