Jasmine Paolini came back from the brink of a loss against Belinda Bencic and beat the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist 5-7 7-5 6-3 in three hours and 22 minutes of play to reach the semifinal at the WTA 500 tournament in Ningbo.
The first set was a pure rollercoaster as Bencic took it after claiming four breaks and losing her serve three times. After winning the first set, the Swiss also went up by an early break in the second set, but got broken back in the fourth game. Still, she put herself in an outstanding position to win the match after breaking Paolini for a 5-4 lead and a chance to serve out for the match.
On the verge of picking up a straight-set defeat, Paolini responded with back-to-back breaks to win the next three games and steal the second set. After forcing a decider, the second-seeded Italian collected the lone break of the third set in the eighth game before completing her comeback in the following game.
Who is Paolini's next rival in Ningbo?
In the Ningbo semifinal, Paolini will play against the winner of the match between No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina and Ajla Tomljanovic. If Rybakina wins as expected, it will be the sixth meeting between them. The Italian leads their head-to-head 3-2.
Meanwhile, after beating Bencic, the Italian tennis star declared it "one of the toughest matches" she has ever played.
“It was one of the toughest matches I’ve ever played honestly. Belinda is playing amazing. She’s an amazing player and a very good person. She deserved to win as well. It was a really tough match. I’m happy I stayed there. In the beginning, I had too many mistakes. I couldn’t find my best tennis. I tried to stay there every point and turn the match somehow. I’m happy I did it," Paolini reflected after edging out Bencic.
