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Jasmine Paolini reaches her second consecutive Grand Slam final by beating Donna Vekic at Wimbledon

Jul 11, 2024 | 9:40 AM

LONDON (AP) — Jasmine Paolini reached her second consecutive Grand Slam final with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) victory over unseeded Donna Vekic at Wimbledon on Thursday in a rollicking match that lasted 2 hours, 51 minutes.

Paolini kept coming back, coming back, coming back — after dropping the opening set, after being two games from defeat at 4-all in the second, after twice trailing by a break in the third at 3-1 and 4-3 at Centre Court.

But the No. 7-seeded Paolini never went away, eventually converting her third match point. This showing on the grass courts of the All England Club follows her runner-up finish to Iga Swiatek on the red clay at Roland Garros last month.

The 28-year-old Italian is the first woman to get to the title matches at the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season since Serena Williams in 2015 and 2016.