Jasmine Paolini makes history as she wins record-breaking Wimbledon semi-final thriller
Jasmine Paolini edged out Donna Vekic in three sets in a dramatic Wimbledon semi-final to become the first Italian woman to reach the final at the All England Club.
Paolini overcame Vekic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(8) in a thrilling contest on Centre Court, which was the longest women’s semi-final in Wimbledon history at two hours and 51 minutes.
The seventh seed, who will climb to a career-high ranking of world No 5 after the event, lost a one-sided opening set as Vekic started the match at a stunning level.
The 28-year-old earned the only break of a tight second set with Vekic serving at 4-5, 15-40 to take the match into a third set.
Paolini was twice a break down in the decider at 1-3 and 3-4, before Vekic saved match points when serving at 4-5 and 5-6 to force a match tiebreak.
The Italian secured just the third mini-break of a nail-biting tiebreak to convert her third match point when Vekic fired wide with a forehand.
Paolini has become the first woman to reach the finals at both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season since Serena Williams in 2016. She was a runner-up to Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros last month.
The 28-year-old will face either fourth seed Elena Rybakina or 31st seed Barbora Krejcikova in the championship match on Saturday.
In her on-court interview, Paolini said: “It was really tough. She played unbelievable. She was hitting winners everywhere. I was struggling at the beginning.
“I repeated to myself to fight every ball and try to improve a little bit on the court because I was serving really bad. I’m so happy with this win. This match I will remember forever.
“There’s no place better than here to fight every point and every ball. For a tennis player, this is the best place to play a match like this. Thank you for cheering for me.
“These last months have been crazy for me. I don’t know. I’m trying to just focus on what I have to do on court. Just enjoying what I’m doing. I love playing tennis.
“It’s amazing to be here playing on this stadium. It’s a dream. I watched the finals when I was a kid at Wimbledon. I’m enjoying and just living the present. But the last months have been crazy for me (smiling).
“I think it’s not easy for the family to watch a match like this. It was a rollercoaster of emotions. I’m so grateful they were here. They’ve been supporting me forever. I’m just so grateful to have them here watching.”
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