‘This match I will remember forever’: Jasmine Paolini reaches Wimbledon final after winning three-set epic over Donna Vekić

(CNN) — Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian woman in history to reach a Wimbledon final after beating Donna Vekić 2-6 6-4 7-6(8) in an all-time classic.

At two hours and 51 minutes, it was the longest women’s singles semifinal in Wimbledon history and the win means Paolini is the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the final of the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season.

“Really tough today,” Paolini said in her on-court interview. “She played unbelievable, she was hitting winners everywhere. I was struggling a little bit at the beginning, I was just repeating to myself to fight for every ball and to try to improve a little bit on the court. But I’m so happy with this win, I think this match I will remember forever.

“I was trying to think about what to do on the court point by point and repeating to myself that there is no place better than here where to fight for every ball, every point. For a tennis player, this is the best place to play a match like this and really, thank you for cheering for me,” she said to a huge applause from the Centre Court crowd.

“This last month has been crazy for me. I’m trying just to focus on what I have to do on the court, enjoy what I’m doing because I love playing tennis. It’s amazing to be here playing in this stadium. It’s a dream. I was watching Wimbledon finals when I was kid, so I’m enjoying it and just living in the present.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
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