Wimbledon gets a winner for the first time: After the longest semifinal in the history of the tournament and a surprise for the women, Jasmine Paolini will play in the final against Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic. Paolini lost narrowly against Donna Vekic from Croatia 2:6, 6:4, 7:6 (10:8) who was crying in a hard and exciting draft that lasted 2:51 hours.
Former French Open winner Krejcikova then unexpectedly won 3:6, 6:3, 6:4 against Kazakh Jelena Rybakina. Rybakina, who is ranked fourth in the world, won in south-west London in 2022 and was considered the favorite after convincing previous performances.
Paolini and Krejcikova will play their first final at the prestigious grass-court tournament on Saturday. In doubles, however, Krejcikova is already a two-time Wimbledon winner. “It’s unbelievable,” Krejcikova said: “It’s very difficult to explain what I’m feeling right now. I am very proud of my game and my fighting spirit.”
Paolini like Williams recently
Paolini became the first tennis player since US star Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the Wimbledon final just weeks after the French Open final. The nimble, 1.63 meter tall Paolini fought back several times after falling behind in the deciding set and already had a match point at 5:4 and 6:5. She was concerned in the tiebreak and became the first Italian woman in the Open era to reach the Wimbledon final since 1968.
“crazy”
“I will always remember this game. The last few months have gone crazy for me,” said Paolini, who was also the Italian’s first Wimbledon semi-finalist, after a “roller coaster of emotions”: “It’s a dream.”
Paolini’s path to the top of the world reads impressively. Before this season, she had not gone past the second round of any Grand Slam tournament. At Wimbledon she had not won a main draw match in three tries.
Tears and pain for Vekic
Vekic, who was considering taking a break from tennis just before the French Open, cried during the match. At the press conference that followed, the 28-year-old had to hold back tears. “I had so much pain in my arm and leg,” she said after her first Grand Slam semi-final: “I cried more because I was in so much pain that I didn’t know how to continue play.”