Wimbledon witnessed one of the most entertaining but emotionally-draining matches in the tournament’s history as Jasmine Paolini continued her breakout season by edging a devastated Donna Vekic in the first women’s semi-final.
Paolini joined a very short list, which includes only the greatest players in modern tennis history, by backing up her runner-up French Open finish and making another slam final with a 2-6 6-4 7-6 (10-8) win.
The near three-hour epic was the longest women’s semi-final ever played at the All England Club and secured the Italian a place in the final against Barbora Krejcikova, who upset tournament favourite Elena Rybakina 3-6 6-3 6-4.
Paolini – who joined Steffi Graf, Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Venus Williamsis as the only players to make the finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year in the past 25 years – is the story of the 2024 women’s tour.
Standing just 163cm tall, she is winning fans at a rapid rate because of her perfectly positive body language and joyful expressions.
The 28-year-old provided the starkest of contrasts to Vekic, who reacted to every lost point in a gripping third set like someone had just run over her cat.
In distressing and bizarre scenes, Vekic began openly crying with the match still well and truly within her reach. “Vekic is crying – a lot,” tennis journalist Jose Morgado tweeted.
But it didn’t seem to impact her play as she regathered herself before each point and continued to hammer heavy serves and forehands at her pint-sized opponent.
The tension was unbearable – and led Aussie women’s star Daria Saville to tweet: “I can’t even imagine what both families are going through right now omg.”
Paolini had never won a main draw match at Wimbledon before this year, but the world number seven, who lost the French Open final last month, will face 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina or Czech 31st seed Barbora Krejcikova in Saturday’s final.
Vekic paid the price for 57 unforced errors, with the semi-final fittingly ending on another wild forehand from the unseeded Croatian.
Unable to contain her frustration at letting 3-1 and 4-3 leads slip in the last set, Vekic broke down in tears in the closing stages of a rollercoaster clash.
After surviving the emotional encounter with Vekic, Paolini could celebrate becoming the first Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon final.
It has been a breakthrough year for Paolini, who reached her maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros before losing to world number one Iga Swiatek.
Paolini, who made the Australia Open last 16 in January, had not gone past the second round in any slam before this year.
Without a win at the All England Club heading into the tournament, Paolini now has six victories under her belt and has dropped just two sets in the process.
“You know there is no place better than here to fight for every ball and every point,” Paolini said.
“I was struggling at the beginning. I was serving really bad, so I’m so happy. This match I will remember forever. It was a rollercoaster of emotions,” she said.
Vekic landed the first break in the fifth game of the opening set, taking a 3-2 lead gift-wrapped by two wayward Paolini forehands.
Unloading baseline winners and deft drop-shots at will, the Croatian broke again in the seventh game and emphatically served out the set.
Paolini couldn’t convert her first break opportunity of the match in the fourth game of the second set.
But Vekic squandered two break points in the following game, losing her momentum as the feisty Paolini levelled the match with a ferocious forehand to take the set with a break at 5-4.
Vekic took a lengthy break off court to gather herself before the decider, re-emerging to break in the first game of the third set.
Yet as the tension mounted, the nervy Croatian stumbled as Paolini broke back to level at 3-3, Vekic earned another break in the following game before handing Paolini a lifeline by tamely dropping serve for 4-4.
In a dramatic finale, Vekic ignored an apparent injury to save a match point in the 10th game.
When Vekic couldn’t take a break point in the next game, she broke down in tears at the change of ends.
Vekic managed to compose herself enough to save a second match point, but she blew a 3-1 lead in the tie-break as Paolini gutted out a memorable victory.
Krejcikova fights back to upset Rybakina
Women’s tennis was the winner as both semifinals went to three sets at Wimbledon for the first time in 20 years, per ESPN.
Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, looked headed for her second title as she broke Krejcikova three times in the first set.
But the 31st seed found her footing in the second and took her record to 3-0 against the Kazakhstani.
The Czech 28-year-old, who won the 2021 French Open and was ranked as high as two in the world in early 2022, also has 10 doubles grand slam titles to her name.
– with AFP