By Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press on July 11, 2024.
LONDON (AP) – Jasmine Paolini kept coming back, kept coming back, kept coming back, against Donna Vekic in what would become the longest Wimbledon women’s semifinal on record – after dropping the opening set, after being two games from defeat in each of the last two sets, after twice trailing by a break in the third. And all the while, this is what Paolini kept telling herself Thursday: “Try, point by point” and “Fight for every ball.” Paolini never had won a match at the All England Club until last week and now will participate in her second consecutive Grand Slam final, thanks to a rollicking 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) victory over the unseeded Vekic across 2 hours, 51 minutes on Centre Court. Paolini will face 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova for the title on Saturday. Krejcikova eliminated 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second semifinal. ___ AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis 8