Jasmine Paolini outlasts Donna Vekic to reach first Wimbledon final

Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon final after beating Croatia's Donna Vekic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 on Thursday in the longest women's semi-final at the All England Club.

Fans were treated to a rollercoaster match that lasted two hours and 51 minutes on Centre Court as both players emptied the tank seeking a spot in the final. Paolini will now face Barbora Krejcikova on Saturday after the Czech player upset 2022 champion Elena Rybakina in the other semi-final.

Vekic, 28, took the opening set comfortably having broken Paolini in the fifth game and then again in the seventh with her groundstrokes and judicious dropshots making the difference.

However, Paolini, now into a second Grand Slam final in a month after finishing runner-up at Roland Garros, became more aggressive in the second set as she approached the net more and put Vekic on the backfoot. Her approach paid off with a break to clinch the set.

The pair exchanged breaks in the decider as both racked up the unforced errors, particularly Vekic who looked increasingly fatigued and emotional as the match progressed. She was in tears after saving Paolini's first match point.

A successful challenge on a line call helped Paolini hold an almost 10-minute game that ended in Vekic sobbing in her chair at the changeover. The Croatian, who talked about quitting tennis altogether earlier in the year, rallied to save another match point and held serve to force a tiebreak.

But it was Paolini, 28, who found another gear and prevailed to continue her breakout season.

Paolini, who was a winner in Dubai back in February, said: “She played unbelievable. She was hitting winners everywhere, I was a little bit struggling at the beginning but I was just repeating to myself to fight every ball and to improve a little bit.

“I am so happy with this win. This match, I will remember forever. There is no place better than here to fight and fight. I really enjoy playing in front of you guys. For a tennis player, it is the best match to play a place like this.

“It is not easy for the family to watch a match like this, it was a rollercoaster of emotions. I am so grateful they were here. They are supporting me forever. I am so thankful to have them here watching. Grazie!

“It is a dream. I was watching finals when I was a kid on this Wimbledon. I am just enjoying it and trying to live in the present, but the last months have been crazy for me.

“Now I am going to the ice bath to rest my legs because I am a little bit tired, but I am so happy to be in the final.”

Krejcikova, winner of the French Open in 2021 but never previously beyond the fourth round in London, fought back from a set down to claim a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory on Centre Court against Rybakina in the later semi-final.

She will now hope to follow in the footsteps of her fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova, who became the first unseeded winner of the women’s singles 12 months ago, while Rybakina’s defeat guarantees an eighth different champion in eight years.

Krejcikova had beaten Rybakina in both their previous meetings but both were on hard courts and it looked like the Kazakh, champion two years ago and winner of 19 of her 21 matches at Wimbledon before this one, would continue her grass-court dominance.

But Krejcikova turned the contest around impressively, saying afterwards: “There’s a lot of joy, a lot emotions. Also a lot of relief and I’m just super proud. I was down, I started 0-4, I was happy that I won the first game. I started to be in the zone and I didn’t want to leave the zone.”