Paolini defeats Vekic in a marathon match to reach Wimbledon’s first Wimbledon final
Summary
- Paolini became the first Italian woman to make it to the Wimbledon final
- Semi-final match between women and Vekic the longest game in Wimbledon history
- Italian is set to take on Krejcikova for the title on Saturday.
LONDON 11th July (Reuters) 7th seed Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian woman to reach her way to the Wimbledon final following her beat Croatian Donna Vekic 2-6 6-4 7-6(8) on Thursday in the longest semi-final of women that took place in the All England Club.
Fans were entertained by an entertaining game on the Centre Court as both players exhaust themselves to secure a semi-final spot this Sat. Paolini will face Barbora Krejcikova, following the 2021 French Open champion beat Elena Rybakina to reach the semi-finals in the second.
Two women who are both aged 28 had yet to be able to navigate the unknown with Vekic playing in her first semi-final of her career. Paolini had never played a grass game before this season.
The Croatian won the opening set without difficulty in the wake of breaking Paolini whom she was the surprise finalist at the French Open last month, in the fifth game and following it in the seventh by combining drops and groundstrokes. This was too much for the Italian in the warm and sunny day.
However, Paolini was backed by a large crowd comprised of Italians who gathered to show their support, became more aggressive in the 2nd set when she moved further away from the net and then threw Vekic in the back. Her determination and efforts eventually resulted in an unforced break in order to take the match to victory.
The two teams played breaks in the end and both made mistakes which were not forced, and especially Vekic who looked exhausted as the match moved on. She was crying when she saved Paolini’s initial goal.
An exciting contest that successfully overturned an mistake in line play has allowed Paolini to play a nearly 10-minute game that culminated in Vekic weeping in her chair at the changeover.
Croatian was able to recover and win one match point. she was able to serve for a tiebreak, however she was slow when she made an unforced error of 57. She also vented her frustration with coach Pam Shriver in the players box.
Paolini Paolini, on the contrary, she appeared just as energetic as when she started. She prevailed and won the race that took two hours and 51 minutes where both competitors took a walk of over 3.5 miles. They also reached the second time in a row to reach a Grand Slam final.
“These past few months have been a blur for me. I’m trying to stay focused on what I need to perform on the court. I am a tennis fan. It’s incredible to be here, and it’s a dream come true,” Paolini who reached the semi-finals of Eastbourne in the month of March reported to journalists on court.
“I believe it was a very intense game and I did my best. Now it’s time to rest. I’m thinking that I’ll require an ice bath because my legs are a slightly exhausted. “
The most long semi-final of ladies at Wimbledon was two hours and 50 mins the match between Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva in 2009.
‘CRAZY’
Paolini did not make it beyond to the stage two of the Grand Slam before this year. She made it to the fourth stage of the Australian Open in January before her final match at Wimbledon in which was the French Open and now Wimbledon.
If she been guided by someone who had told her that she was twice finalist and had been twice a finalist, the Italian gave a straight answer.
“You are insane I’d say”Yes… I’m not even able to think of words. You are insane,” she said at the press event with a laugh.
It seems that her work with a new fitness coach at the start of the year has been paying back, as she hopes to emulate her peers Italians such as the Italian 2010 French Open winner Francesca Schiavone and the 2014 U.S. Open champion Flavia Pennetta and the former world No. five Sara Errani by contesting the championship match in the main.
Paolini, however was determined to tell her own story in the history books.
“Yeah I’m so inspired by them. me tremendously. However, I’m not going to get caught up in comparison since I’m writing my own story, my own life,” she stated.
“But I can remember that Grand Slam finals that they won. I believe it’s crucial to the next generation to have players who are capable of doing great things. They can demonstrate to you that it’s feasible. It’s crucial. “
