Paolini stages thrilling comeback to make Italian Open semi-finals
ROME: Jasmine Paolini etched her name in the history books on Tuesday, becoming the first Italian woman to reach the Italian Open semi-finals since 2014. The world number five battled past Russia’s Diana Shnaider 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-2 in a dramatic quarter-final in Rome.
Paolini, cheered on by a passionate home crowd, started strongly and raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set, only to unravel as Shnaider took control and dominated the tiebreak. But the French Open finalist responded in style, reeling off six straight games after going 0-4 down in the second set to level the match.
In a tense decider, Paolini overcame an early break deficit and showed tremendous grit to outlast the 21-year-old Russian. Her victory marks the first time an Italian woman has reached the semi-finals in Rome since her doubles partner Sara Errani did so 11 years ago.
Paolini will now face American Peyton Stearns, who edged Elina Svitolina 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(4), for a place in the final.
In the men’s draw, world number one Jannik Sinner extended his unbeaten run to 24 matches with a 7-6(2), 6-3 win over Francisco Cerundolo, maintaining his perfect record of reaching at least the quarter-finals in every event this year. Fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti also impressed, defeating Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-4 to book a last-eight clash with defending champion Alexander Zverev.
