Jasmine Paolini vs Donna Vekic

Thursday, July 11, 2024

Jasmine Paolini -175 / Donna Vekic +142 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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Jasmine Paolini will face Donna Vekic in the semifinal of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. The match is scheduled for Thursday, July 11, 2024. Here's our Jasmine Paolini vs Donna Vekic prediction.

Jasmine Paolini vs Donna Vekic Preview

Jasmine Paolini made Italian history on Tuesday. She became the first woman from her country to reach a Wimbledon semifinal. And not many people would have called that long shot at the start of the tournament.

For a player who enjoyed a breakthrough season on the WTA in 2024 with a maiden WTA 1000 title on hard courts in Dubai and a run to the Roland Garros final last month, Wimbledon was probably the last tournament that the diminutive Paolini would forge a result quite like this. She had just six wins on grass before this year at 28. But there's a first time for everything, and Paolini, who will become a Top 5 player on Monday regardless of Thursday's semifinal result, has merited her spot.

Donna Vekic will also contest her first Wimbledon semifinal. The powerful Croatian, ranked 37th in the world rankings, is one of the beneficiaries of the top seeds crashing out of the tournament.

Vekic only needed to beat one seed to reach the last four (28th seed Dayana Yastremska), and she ended the Cinderella story for the New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun in the quarterfinal. Vekic fought back from a set down to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, finishing the match with 32 winners and 26 unforced errors.

Jasmine Paolini vs Donna Vekic Head-To-Head

• Paolini leads Vekic 2-1 in their head-to-head.

• All three meetings were contested on hard courts, and none lasted beyond two sets.

Jasmine Paolini vs Donna Vekic Prediction

Expect fireworks in this one. Paolini has a ferocious forehand that completely obliterated the in-form Emma Navarro in the quarterfinal. The American was outwitted tactically, and Vekic cannot afford to engage in cross-court exchanges with the Italian from the wing. It was the pattern of play that proved costly for Navarro. But there's more to the Paolini toolbox than just the forehand with her slice working so well on grass, and she moves almost effortlessly on her least favorite surface. All these strengths mask her fragile serve. That's where Vekic will outplay her opponent.

The advantage for Paolini is that she's been at this stage before, and it was only last month that she excelled, beating Mirra Andreeva to reach the French Open final. Nerves will play a factor here, and that probably favors Paolini slightly, given the season and the run she's had from Roland Garros and now at Wimbledon. They've never played a three-set match in the head-to-head, and I'll lean towards that with an edge on Paolini.