LONDON: Jasmine Paolini sprinted across the lawn and chased down a drop shot midway through the Wimbledon semifinal. Donna Vekic replied with a heavily spun topspin lob. The Italian had no business getting to the ball, she was almost kissing the net cord when she turned and charged back to the baseline. Racket on ball, she got it over the net. Vekic, whose forehand was calling the shots until that point, thumped the ball wide.
Centre Court gasped. There was a hint of a smile on Paolini's expressive face, a reminder perhaps to never count her out. Vekic, hands on hips, also smiled, but for a whole different reason.
That right there - with the sun casting a glow on SW19 for the second successive afternoon - was where the first of the ladies' semifinals turned. An extraordinary contest, where every nook and corner of the court was used and covered. Lines met angles and power met poise.
Paolini, the No. 7 seed, stopped the inspired run of Vekic, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8) in two hours and 51 minutes in the longest women's singles match in Wimbledon history.
Paolini, the first Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon final in the Open Era, and the first player to reach the final at Roland Garros and the Championships in the same year since Serena Williams in 2016, will play the winner of the Elena Rybakina-Barbora Krecjikova clash in the title match on Saturday.
What turned the three-hour affair into gripping cinema was the back stories of these two women, both 28 years of age.
Some of the shots Vekic hit, you could see a lifetime's work on it. The RPMs were singing. On the other side, Paolini's resolve shone brighter than the sun, while her craft sparkled.
They have both loved and lived, had their hearts broken and wills tested. Vekic's body was so bruised and beaten that two months ago she was seriously considering walking away from the sport. The Croat made her first Grand Slam semifinal in her 43rd major, after losing in the first round 20 times. Paolini, 5'4", had lost in the first round of her three previous Wimbledon main draw appearances, earlier she had fallen in the qualifiers thrice. It wasn't until January, in Australia, that she had made the second week of a Grand Slam.
The semifinal then stood for everything women's sport stands for - titanic ability, physical and mental; pulsating power, lightning speed, resilience. And an unbendable steel.
Vekic, clearly injured, and struggling to motor on, sobbed. Paolini screamed 'forza'.
Then, when it was all over, the seventh seed led the Centre Court applause as Vekic walked off the court.
"It was really tough today, she played unbelievable. She was hitting winners everywhere, I was struggling at the beginning, but I told myself to fight for every ball. I'm so happy with this win," Paolini said. She then added with a smile, "This match I will remember forever." She is not alone.
