Wimbledon24: Paolini win a thriller, Rybakina chokes as Krejčíková reach final

 

Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini has become the first Italian female tennis player to reach the Wimbledon final in the Open Era. In the semi-finals, she triumphed over Croatia's Donna Vekic in a thrilling three-set match (2-6, 6-4, 7-6) that lasted 2 hours and 51 minutes. A month ago, Paolini was the runner-up at the⁵ for French Open, losing to the top seed, Iga Świątek. Now, she has the opportunity to win Wimbledon, facing Barbora Krejčíková in the final. Krejčíková advanced to the final by defeating fourth seed Elena Rybakina in three sets, making a remarkable comeback despite trailing.


Paolini and Vekic's semi-final match was the longest in women's Wimbledon history. Vekic took the first set, but Paolini fought back to take the second. Paolini had two match points in the third set, first at 5-4 and then at 6-5, but Vekic saved both to push the set to a tiebreaker. Despite Vekic's resilience, Paolini eventually secured the win.


Paolini's performance on grass courts in 2024 has been exceptional, with an 8-1 record, her only loss coming to Daria Kasatkina. Reaching the Wimbledon final ensures Paolini will enter the top five rankings next week.


In the semi-final, Paolini had a shaky start, with Vekic dominating the first set 6-2 due to Paolini's unforced errors. However, Paolini rebounded in the second set, breaking Vekic's serve in the ninth game and holding her own to win 6-4. The third set was intensely competitive, with both players fighting for every point. Vekic appeared fatigued, and although she fought hard, Paolini eventually won the match after a tough tiebreaker, earning a standing ovation from the center court crowd.


In the other semi-final, Rybakina started strong, winning the first set 6-3 as Krejčíková struggled under pressure. However, Krejčíková rallied in the second set, breaking Rybakina's serve early and overcoming difficulties with the court's sunlight to win 6-3, leveling the match. The final set saw both players holding serve until the seventh game, where Rybakina's mistakes allowed Krejčíková to break her serve. From the 2nd set onwards , Rybakina's unforced errors multiplied from set 2 onwards as she started to get worried and thereby lost the grip on her play. Despite multiple attempts, Rybakina couldn't recover, and Krejčíková secured her place in the final by winning the third set 6-4.

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