Jasmine Paolini roars into second straight Slam final, defeats Donna Vekic in Wimbledon epic

Jasmine Paolini completed an incredible comeback at Wimbledon, rallying from a set down to defeat an inspired Donna Vekic, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8).

"This match, I will remember forever," she said on court after the match.

The No. 7 seed twice trailed by a break in the final set, but nonetheless stormed into her second straight Grand Slam final in a thrilling match tiebreaker, continuing a breakout 2024 season and advancing in two hours 51 minutes—the longest-ever women's semifinal—on Centre Court. The Italian now awaits the winner of the second semifinal No. 31 seed Barbora Krejcikova, who knocked out No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina in three sets.

Paolini, who was fresh from her own breakthrough Roland Garros result, a run to her first Grand Slam final. Building on what has been a spectacular season, the diminutive Italian backed up her first WTA 1000 victory at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and Roland Garros final with revelatory form on grass, the happy warrior storming into the semifinals with the loss of just one set.

Across the net was a fellow 28-year-old and equally on-fire Vekic, who was coming off an emotional quarterfinal comeback against Lulu Sun, one that earned her a maiden semifinal berth after two previous quarterfinal finishes at the 2019 US Open and 2021 Australian Open. But grass has long been her favorite surface since she was a teenager, when she finished runner-up in Birmingham back in 2013. At last year’s Championships, she pulled off a thrilling victory over Sloane Stephens only to run into eventual champ Marketa Vondrousova in the following round, and struggled to maintain the momentum with which she began 2023 thereafter.

Leg and foot injuries in 2021 and 2022 left the Croat disenchanted, even after adding Hall of Famer Pam Shriver to her coaching team, and as recently as last month’s Roland Garros, Vekic confessed she felt on the brink of calling it a career.

“I didn't have any energy, any motivation to keep practicing, keep pushing because I felt like the last couple months I've given everything for tennis, and I wasn't getting the results that I kind of expected,” she said on Tuesday.

Drawing support from her team, she shook off a heartbreaking Paris defeat to Olga Danilovic and refocused for a strong grass campaign, reaching the Bad Homburg Open final and navigating four three-setters to score her biggest major result in the 43rd main-draw appearance of her career.

Leading 2-1 in their head-to-head, the seventh-ranked Paolini nonetheless looked to be a favorite to end the unseeded Vekic’s Cinderella run, but Vekic other ideas as the match got underway. Pressuring Paolini’s second serve, she scored the first break of the match and reeled off a total of five straight games, striking twice as many winners (12 to 5) and holding at love to clinch the first set.

Paolini, who escaped a three-setter against in the fourth round an injured Madison Keys, is no stranger to beating the odds, reversing an 0-3 head-to-head against Emma Navarro in the quarterfinals earlier in the week, and aimed to flip the proverbial script early in the second set.

Saving three break points in two service games, Paolini visibly lifted her intensity and weathered a barrage of big shots from Vekic, who faltered after a big overhead miss. Winning seven of the next eight points, Paolini pumped up the crowd as she roared into a decider.

Vekic played much cleaner tennis to start the third set, outrallying Paolini for an opening break and consolidating with a 112mph serve. Avoiding a double-break deficit, Paolini began to rediscover her intensity after two hard-fought serve holds and broke back to level the set at three games apiece.

Hitting through her disappointment, Vekic immediately restored her lead with a thunderous forehand return but gave into frustrations over the lack of an available ice bag in the subsequent changeover and handed the break back behind a slew of misses. Paolini took full advantage and maintained her positive approach as she served her way to 5-4 lead.

A wild miss from Vekic handed Paolini her first match point, but an at-times emotional Vekic regained her composure. Together, the pair treated the crowd to an electric finale: Paolini saved two break points and narrowly held on thanks to a successful challenge on a Vekic forehand, while Vekic saved a second match point in the following game with a scintillating rally and forced a match tiebreak.

Tied up after the Sudden Death's first two changes of end, Paolini earned a third match point with a strong serve and finally converted off a final error for Vekic, clinching one of the best matches of the year.