Paolini just keeps going and going

Jasmine Paolini kept coming back, kept coming back, kept coming back, against Donna Vekic in what would become the longest Wimbledon women’s semifinal on record – after dropping the opening set, after being two games from defeat in each of the last two sets, after twice trailing by a break in the third.

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And all the while, this is what Paolini kept telling herself Thursday: “Try, point by point” and “Fight for every ball.”

Paolini never had won a match at the All England Club until last week and now will participate in her second consecutive Grand Slam final, thanks to a rollicking 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) victory over the unseeded Vekic across two hours, 51 minutes on Centre Court.

“This match,” said the No. 7 Paolini, who faces No. 31 Barbora Krejcikova for the title, “I will remember forever.”