Paolini Pulls Off Shock Win Over Rybakina to Reach French Open Semis
Italian Stuns Fourth Seed in Three-Set Quarterfinal
By The Associated Press
PARIS — Jasmine Paolini stunned Elena Rybakina in a back-and-forth contest to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final at the French Open on Wednesday.
The 12th-seeded Paolini won 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, becoming the second Italian player after Jannik Sinner to reach the last four at Roland Garros.
"It was a really tough match," Paolini said in her on-court interview. "I'm really happy to be in the semi-finals."
Paolini, who had never reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam before, played some scintillating stuff in both the first and third sets.
She broke Rybakina's serve in the opening game of the match and never looked back, taking the first set in just 32 minutes.
Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, fought back to win the second set, but Paolini broke her serve again in the third game of the decider and held on to secure a famous victory.
Paolini will face either top seed Iga Swiatek or Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals on Thursday.
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