Jasmine Paolini majors in comeback

London, July 11

Jasmine Paolini reached her second consecutive Grand Slam final with a 2-6 6-4 7-6(8) victory over unseeded Donna Vekic at Wimbledon today in a rollicking match that lasted 2 hours, 51 minutes, making it the tournament’s longest women’s semifinal on record.

Paolini kept coming back, coming back, coming back — after dropping the opening set, after being two games from defeat at 4-all in the second, after twice trailing by a break in the third at 3-1 and 4-3. But the No. 7-seeded Paolini never went away, eventually converting her third match point when Vekic sent a forehand wide. This showing on the grass courts of the All England Club follows Paolini’s runner-up finish to Iga Swiatek on at Roland Garros last month.

The 28-year-old Italian is the first woman to get to the title matches at the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season since Serena Williams in 2015 and 2016.

“These last months have been crazy for me,” Paolini said with a laugh.

Paolini’s win at Centre Court was anything but easy for either woman.

Barbora Krejcikova produced a superb comeback to reach her first Wimbledon final, showing stubborn resilience in the face of a relentless attacking barrage from Elena Rybakina to triumph 3-6 6-3 6-4. — Agencies