Krejcikova and Paolini vie for their maiden Venus Rosewater Dish
Semifinals: Men:
Women: dropped to 56. At 2-1, Alcaraz made the play, reeling o three winners, two on the forehand and one on the backhand, to break Medvedev. It was one-set all not long after.
“I just tried to do dierent things,” Alcaraz said. “Not to play long rallies, try drop shots and go often to the net. It was basically to try and not play his game.”
The third set was the best representation of this. The service that had deserted him returned and the hyper-extended forehand — almost Federeresque in full ight — found the right corners of the court. Alcaraz being Alcaraz didn’t dilute his fondness for the theatre by continuing to drop shot but this time had a fair amount of success.
Shoelace volley
The duo traded early breaks in the fourth. Alcaraz, though, seldom looked in trouble. He broke Medvedev in the seventh game, and held to 5-3 with a shoelace volley that would have made the greatest grass-courters proud. Medvedev’s shoulders dropped and he soon trudged o the court a deated man.
A fortnight ago, a Wimbledon women’s singles nal between Barbora Krejcikova and Jasmine Paolini would have been no tipster’s recommendation. On Saturday, they will compete for their maiden Venus Rosewater Dish and become the eighth dierent singles champion at the All England Club in as many years.
Both women come into the summit clash on the back of tough three-set wins. While Krejcikova blunted the big-hitting Elena Rybakina’s challenge 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, Paolini outlasted Donna Vekic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(8) in an epic that lasted nearly three hours.
Krejcikova may have spent 44 minutes less on the court, but it was as dicult a win as Paolini’s, for the Czech was also in the doubles draw until late on Wednesday, losing a threeset quarternal with partner Laura Siegemund.
But Krejcikova and Paolini will be suciently rested ahead of the weekend nal and it may be tempting to pick the former as the favourite simply because she has Slam-winning experience (French Open 2021) and has tasted title success on Centre Court by securing the doubles trophies in 2018 and 2022. Krejcikova’s all-round skills will also stand her in good stead.
Flavour of the season
Paolini, however, has been the avour of the season, and has impressed with her boundless energy. She started the year with just four main draw match wins at the Majors — three of them at the French Open — but has now reached not one but two nals. If ever anyone needed an example of a sophomore act done well, Paolini’s will qualify.
The 28-year-old Italian is also a smart operator on the court. She is fast across the turf, is blessed with explosive footwork and can both redirect pace and generate plenty of her own. She is gutsy and has a never-say-die attitude, facets that helped her immensely in the seminal versus Vekic.
Krejcikova and Paolini have met once, way back in 2018 in the rst-round qualifying at the Australian Open when neither player was fully formed. “It just shows it has been an unbelievable journey,” Krejcikova told Tennis Channel. “We are the same age, grew up and played juniors together. So incredible to be playing in the Wimbledon nal.”