“It was a tough, tough match,” Gutted Donna Vekic opens up after her loss to Jasmine Paolini at Wimbledon

Vekic said she will take some time off before analyzing the defeat to Paolini.

“It was a tough, tough match,” Gutted Donna Vekic opens up after her loss to Jasmine Paolini at Wimbledon

Donna Vekic lost to Jasmine Paolini at Wimbledon (Images via X, Imago)

In a heartbreaking and exhausting match, Donna Vekic went down to Jasmine Paolini in her first-ever semifinal at the Wimbledon Championships. Paolini battled from a set down and twice a break down in the decider to win 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(8) in two hours and 51 minutes.

Vekic won the first set before Paolini bounced back to force a decider, where she lost 8-10 in the tiebreak. Despite taking the lead in the third set, she couldn’t consolidate it and burst into tears when the match went into the final set tiebreak. She managed to save a match point in the end before the Italian won two points in a row at 8-8 in the tiebreak to seal the win.

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In her post-match press conference, she stated that she was feeling terrible despite her team urging her to be proud of herself. She also credited her opponent for playing great tennis.

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It was a tough, tough match. I believed I could win til the end. She played some amazing tennis. Congrats to her. She definitely deserves it. My team tells me that I can be proud of myself. It’s tough right now. It’s really tough. For sure I will need to take a couple of days to see everything. It’s tough to be positive right now. It was so close and I had a lot of chances.

Donna Vekic said

Vekic also said that while she regretted not taking advantage of the chances that came her way, her team consoled her by praising her for her unbelievable run at the SW19.

Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova face off for a first Wimbledon title

Paolini vs. Krejcikova (images via Imago)

In a tournament of historic upsets, Barbora Krejcikova took down one of the favorites, and the only Top 5 player left in the draw, Elena Rybakina, to reach the Wimbledon final. This is her best result at the tournament and her first Grand Slam final since her title run at Roland Garros in 2021. 

The former World No. 2 will take on the current World No. 7, Jasmine Paolini, who came from set down to beat Donna Vekic. It was heartbreak for the Croat but a second consecutive Grand Slam final for the Italian.

Krejcikova and Paolini have faced each other only once on the WTA tour, at the 2018 Australian Open, where the former won 6-2, 6-1. However, in the final on Saturday (July 13), Krejcikova will be the underdog as per her WTA ranking and will face Paolini in the form of her life.

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