Jasmine Paolini ended Alexandra Eala’s Wimbledon run in the last 16 on Monday, securing her a spot in the grass-court Grand Slam quarter-finals later this week.
Italian 13th seed Paolini edged out Iga Swiatek’s conqueror Eala with a gritty 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory on Centre Court, reaching her first Grand Slam quarter-final since losing the 2024 All England Club final. Paolini will next face Ukrainian 12th seed Marta Kostyuk, who saw off qualifier Ashlyn Krueger in straight sets.
It marks a return to form for Paolini, who has struggled this year and appeared on the verge of a first-round exit last week when she lost her opening set of the tournament 6-0 to world No 195 Robin Montgomery.
“After the first set in the first round I was like, ‘okay, it can only go better’ … point by point, game by game, I was feeling better,” said Paolini, who was also the runner-up at the French Open two years ago.
The 21-year-old Eala enjoyed a history-making tournament, becoming the first player from the Philippines to reach the third and fourth rounds of a major in the Open-era. But she could not extend her fairytale run into the last eight, waving goodbye to the crowd after a tense deciding set.
Belgian Elise Mertens, meanwhile, backed up her surprise last-32 win over second seed Elena Rybakina by seeing off Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-4 to book a maiden Wimbledon quarter-final against Linda Noskova.
In the men’s draw, Flavio Cobolli continued his strong form by reaching a second straight Wimbledon quarter-final with an impressive 7-5, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 win over Australian fifth seed Alex de Minaur. The Italian, who lost the French Open final to Zverev last month, will next face Dimitrov or Arthur Fery.
Earlier, Czech ninth seed Noskova saw off Madison Keys in straight sets to reach the SW19 last eight for the first time.
The 21-year-old, whose only previous Grand Slam quarter-final came at the 2024 Australian Open, knocked out American 26th seed Keys with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) victory. | AFP
