LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk made quick work of Italy’s 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini on a sweltering Centre Court to speed into the Wimbledon semi-finals 6-3 6-2 on Wednesday.
The 12th seed was a woman in a hurry from the start as she took the first set in 36 minutes, breaking Paolini to go 3-2 up and then again at 5-3.
The 24-year-old, appearing in the Wimbledon singles quarter-finals and on Centre Court for the first time, had lost her last two meetings with her 13th seeded opponent but used her powerful forehand to telling effect in an impressive victory.
She broke Paolini again to take a 3-1 lead in the second set, with the Italian not getting a sniff of a break point, and then held serve.
With Queen Camilla watching from the Royal Box, the crowd tried to cheer on the underdog but Kostyuk closed out remorselessly on 69 minutes with a second match point on the Italian’s serve.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin;Editing by Alison Williams)
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