LONDON: Italy's Jasmine Paolini aims to cap a “crazy” run with a maiden Grand Slam title against Barbora Krejcikova in Saturday's Wimbledon final.
Paolini survived the longest women's singles semifinal in Wimbledon history with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10/8) win over Donna Vecic after two hours and 51 minutes of center court drama on Thursday.
The 28-year-old is the first Italian woman to reach the final of a grass court Grand Slam.
In the next semi-final, she will compete against Czech 31st seed Krejcikova, who defeated 2022 champion Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
It was a stunning feat for Paolini, who had not won a tour-level match on grass until 15 days ago at Eastbourne and had lost in the first round in her previous three visits to Wimbledon.
She has failed to go beyond the second round of a Grand Slam so far this year.
But 2024 was a breakthrough campaign for Paolini, who reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open before losing to world number one Iga Svitek.
Even Paolini can't believe her remarkable growth.
“You're crazy, I say, yes,” she said. “Yeah, I don't have words. Just, yeah, you're crazy,” said Paolini, who began her unexpected rise by making the last 16 of the Australian Open in January.
“Two Grand Slam finals in a row was crazy to believe, wasn't it?”
Paolini, seeded seventh at Wimbledon, could be forgiven for feeling nervous as he won the first Grand Slam title of his previously lackluster career.
She admits there may be concerns on Center Court this weekend, but she can take heart from a grueling battle against Vecic, who let the semi-final down after leading 3-1 in the deciding set.
Paolini is the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals.
The final will be only the second time Krejcikova and Paolini have met and their rivalry will be a world away from their first encounter.
The pair were tied in the first round of qualifying for the Australian Open in 2018 after Krejcikova won in straight sets.
“It was a long time ago, reaching the Wimbledon final was a great journey for both of us,” Krejcikova said.
After winning the French Open in 2021, Krejcikova is playing the second Grand Slam final of her career.
The 28-year-old struggled with back injuries and illness this year before finding her form in remarkable style at Wimbledon, managing to win three singles matches in just five months.
Krejcikova stunned 11th seed Danielle Collins in the fourth round, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals and Rybakina in the last four.
The two-time Wimbledon doubles champion is inspired by 1998 All England Club winner Jana Novotna, who coached her before she died of cancer in 2017.
“She was telling me so many stories about her journey here and how she was trying to win Wimbledon. I was so far away when we had this conversation and now I'm in the final,” said Krejcikova, who could become the sixth Czech woman to win Wimbledon.
“I've been through a lot of hard times. I never imagined that I could reach the Wimbledon final, that I would be a different player.
“I'm very happy that I was able to fight through everything.”
