"The goal, for me, is to get that Olympic medal" - Elina Svitolina on Tokyo 2020 aspirations

Ukraine's Elina Svitolina heads into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics aiming to improve on her quarterfinal showing from five years ago and bag a medal for her country.

Having made her Olympic debut in Rio at the age of 21, the Odessa-native pulled off one of the upsets of the tournament when she ousted top seed Serena Williams 6-3, 6-1 in the third round.

Svitolina went on to reach the last eight, where she suffered a lopsided defeat at the hands of Petra Kvitova. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian has fond memories of her maiden campaign at the Olympics.

"It was an amazing experience for me. It was the first time [and] watching so many top athletes form different sports, it was a big motivation for me," Svitolina said in a recent interview with the ITF.

Five years down the line, Svitolina is a much more experienced player and will enter the event as one of the top seeds. The Ukrainian is confident she can lay her hands on a medal.

"All the time when we have Olympic year, I look forward to it and I try to prepare as best as I can," Svitolina said. “The goal, for me, is to get that Olympic medal. For my country, Olympics is a big thing. They really support you unbelievably when the athletes are competing in the Olympics."

"For me, it’s very special when I play for the team," Elina Svitolina on representing Ukraine at the Olympics

Svitolina at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Svitolina, who has been a regular feature of Ukraine's Billie Jean King Cup squad in recent years, takes immense pride in playing for her country. The 26-year-old believes she always finds an "extra edge" when representing Ukraine and wants to be remembered as a "fighter for the country."

"For me, it’s very special when I play for the team. It doesn’t matter if it’s Billie Jean King Cup or if it’s Olympics, it’s always something extra and you find this edge to fight more and try to play better," Svitolina said. “Olympics for me is always an important event and I’m extremely proud to represent Ukraine."

"I want to be remembered as a fighter for my country. I want to win everything that I play and I always try to do my best and be at my best for Ukraine," she added.

Shifting her focus to Ukraine's legacy at the Olympics, Svitolina said the country has produced great champions like pole vaulter Sergey Bubka, who has served as a big motivation for her.

Svitolina also discussed her role in the Olympic squad. As one of the more experienced players in the team, Svitolina believes it's her responsibility to mentor the younger players.

"For me, it is important to be helpful to young players as well, to share my experience and help them imporve their game," Svitolina contniued. "It's all about the team spirit. We have a warm relationships with each other and that's very important when you're playing for the country."