Watch live coverage of the men’s semi-finals today on Day 12 of Wimbledon 2024 with Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in action
Jasmine Paolini reached her first Wimbledon final by beating Donna Vekic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8), winning via a 10-point match tiebreak that decided one of the championship’s most thrilling and tense matches ever.
Vekic won the first set like it was a first-round match, not her first Grand Slam semifinal in 43 attempts. She won 91 percent of points behind her first serve without facing a single break point, and broke Paolini’s serve twice.
Vekic played even better tennis in the second set, winning more points on Paolini’s first serve, but she failed to continue her attack on the Italian’s second serve, dropping her winning percentage from 71 percent to 45 percent. Paolini took the second of two break points, saving three of them on her own serve, and took the set 6–4.
The third set was fascinating, compelling and often excruciating, as both players understood the pressure of the occasion in a way they had not in the first two. After facing two break points in the entire match, Vekic faced five break points in the third, making only one of her first serves. Twice she put Paolini ahead by a break, and twice she made it straight back, before both players saved break points again.
At 5-6, after missing three routine balls on Paolini’s serve, Vekic burst into tears. She could have easily given up, but instead played one of her best points of the match and saved match point in the next service game, then forced a tiebreak.
Vekic showed extraordinary courage even after crying at 5-6 in the third set (Francois Nel/Getty Images)
When it came, Paolini won the first point from the net cord, but then double-faulted to give Vekic a 3-1 lead. Vekic then missed a mid-court forehand at 3-2, and held on tiebreak serve until 8-9, including a superb cross-court backhand from Vekic to make the score 7-7. With Paolini on match point, Vekic dragged a forehand wide to give the Italian her second consecutive Grand Slam final.
She will play either fourth seed Elena Rybakina or 31st seed Barbora Krejcikova on Saturday.
‘All familiar features of Paolini’s recent triumphs’
Matt Futterman’s analysis
It was a match that was a complete contrast in style and demeanour, never one to play out of its type. Paolini at times looked like she could play for days with the sun on her back; Vekic at times looked like she couldn’t play another point. But when the match was decided, they both played their games at a high level.
At first, Vekic seemed to have Paolini outplayed. The aggression other opponents have used to try to outwit the shorter Italian was working. Vekic was hitting hard and hitting her spots, and when she missed, she would take a few deep breaths to reset and hit again. But Paolini didn’t give up, and Thursday’s final win over the Croatian had all the familiar characteristics of the Italian’s recent victories, starting with walking onto the court with an opponent who is six to 12 inches taller than her.
Paolini’s routine began from here, built around dismantling a player in a determined and tactical manner who has a physical advantage far beyond what is expected of players in tennis. She can never hit the biggest serve, so uses variety and placement to confuse opponents, to the point that her serve becomes hard to read under pressure. The sets she loses are mostly because she doesn’t execute as intended, hitting only 47 percent of her first serves compared to the tournament average of 67 percent.
The point that kept Vekic up all night came late in the second set, when Paolini was serving at 15-15. Paolini returned after a postage stamp lob and lifted another short, awkward ball into the court that came down from a great height. Vekic screwed up the smash. The Italian’s ability to scramble on defense — as well as to solidly flatten her forehand over her shoulder into Vekic’s backhand corner on attack — kept her firmly in check in a match that, overall, had less on her racket than her opponent.
In a moment she lost a golden opportunity to win the match and was worried that she had missed her best chance of the day.
Watching Paolini at Wimbledon makes it very clear that at 28 she has managed to find answers to her shortcomings and weaknesses by using her own strengths. She has won the Masters 1000 title on hard court (in Dubai); the French Open final on clay; and now this SW19 final. The old tennis adage is “Control what can be controlled.” She has done exactly that.
What did Jasmine Paolini say after the match?
on the court: “I think these last months have been crazy for me.
“But I’m just trying to focus on what I have to do on the court, enjoying what I’m doing, because I love playing tennis. It’s amazing to be here, to play in this stadium. It’s a dream.”
What did Donna Vekic say after the match?
At his press conference: “I mean, I thought I was going to die in the third set. My arms and legs were in so much pain. It wasn’t easy out there, but I’ll be OK.
“My team tells me I can be proud of myself. It’s tough right now. It’s really tough.
“I was crying a lot because I was in so much pain, I didn’t know how I would be able to continue playing.
“Of course I have to take a few days to look at everything. Yeah, I don’t know, it’s hard to be positive right now. It was very close. I had a lot of chances, yeah (tears up)”
(Jordan Pettit/Getty Images)
