By Christian Radnedge
LONDON (Reuters) – Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon final after defeating Croatian Donna Vekic 2-6 6-4 7-6(8) on Wednesday in the longest women’s semi-final at the All England Club.
Fans were treated to a roller-coaster encounter on Centre Court as both players exhausted themselves seeking a spot in the final against either Barbora Krejcikova or 2022 champion Elena Rybakina.
The Croatian, 28, took the opening set comfortably having broken Paolini in the fifth game and then again in the seventh with her mixture of groundstrokes and dropshots proving too much for the Italian under a sunny sky.
However, Paolini, cheered on by many compatriots in the crowd, became more aggressive in the second as she approached the net more and put Vekic on the backfoot. Her diligence and energy eventually 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 fatigued and emotional as the match wore on. She was in tears after saving Paolini’s first match point.
A successful challenge overturning a line call helped Paolini hold an almost 10-minute game that ended in Vekic sobbing in her chair at the changeover. The Croatian rallied to save another match point and held serve to force a tiebreak.
But it was Paolini, 28, who prevailed and won the two hour, 51 minute match to reach her second successive Grand Slam final after the French Open last month.
(Reporting by Christian Radnedge, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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