WIMBLEDON, England — Jasmine Paolini reached her second straight Grand Slam final with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) victory over unseeded Donna Vekic at Wimbledon on Thursday in a thrilling match that lasted 2 hours, 51 minutes.
Paolini kept rallying, rallying, rallying, after losing the first set, after coming within two games of defeat at 4-4 in the second, after twice trailing by a break in the third at 3-1 and 4-3 on Centre Court.
But Paolini, seeded No. 7, did not give up and eventually converted her third match point. This performance on the grass courts of the All England Club follows her second-place finish behind Iga Swiatek on the red clay of Roland Garros last month.
The 28-year-old Italian is the first woman to reach the French Open and Wimbledon title matches in the same season since Serena Williams in 2015 and 2016.
Paolini will face either Elena Rybakina or Barbora Krejcikova for the championship on Saturday.
