Jasmine Paolini of Italy made a sensational comeback, recovering from a set behind and twice in the final set to defeat Donna Vekic and seal her spot in the semis at Wimbledon on Thursday. The seventh seed is in raptures following a 2-6, 6-4, 6-7 win that kept her on court for 2 hours and 51 minutes to become the first Italian woman to reach the final at Wimbledon in the Open Era.
The Wimbledon women's semifinal, the longest played, occurred in 2009 when Serena Williams edged Elena Dementieva, 6-7(4), 7-5, 8-6, lasting 2 hours and 49 minutes.
Paolini saved her first match point at 5-4 in the third and another at 6-5 before finally converting on her third opportunity to snap her cork in a most electrifying super tiebreak and notch her third win from four matches against Vekic.
Only a month ago, when she finished as the French Open runner-up to Iga Swiatek, Paolini has provided quite a quick follow-up. The 28-year-old is now the first player since Serena in 2016 to make finals at both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year.
Only four other players have achieved this feat during the last 25 years: Steffi Graf in 1999, Serena Williams in 2002, 2015, and 2016, Venus Williams of the 2002 year, and Justine Henin in 2006.
Before 2024, Paolini had never won a match on grass at tour level; she currently holds an 8-1 record on the surface, with her only loss being to Daria Kasatkina in the Eastbourne semifinals two weeks ago. Currently at No. 7, she will make her Top 5 debut on Monday.
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