Match Report: Paoilini Reaches Wimbledon QF for the First Time

On July 7th, Beijing time, the Round of 16 in the women’s singles bottom half at Wimbledon 2024 took place. Keys, who reached the semifinals last year, retired injured while tied at 5-5 in the deciding set, paving the way for Paoilini, the recent French Open runner-up, to advance to her first Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Their only previous encounter was at the 2023 WTA Dubai event, where Keys won comfortably in straight sets. However, Paoilini has been in fine form this year and reached the Roland Garros final. In this match, she started strong, using her excellent defensive anticipation and effective counterattacks to force unforced errors from Keys, taking the first set 6-3.

In the second set, after Paoilini broke serve at the start, Keys improved her offensive consistency, winning five consecutive games for a 5-1 lead. Undeterred, Paoilini fought back, breaking Keys twice to level the score and force a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, the scores seesawed before Keys secured her fourth set point to push the match into a decider.

In the decisive set, Keys broke in the third game and led 5-2, but Paoilini refused to give in, battling back to 4-5. Keys then took a medical timeout for an apparent leg injury. Upon resuming play, the injured Keys failed to convert her second match point and eventually retired, giving Paoilini the win.

This marks Paoilini’s maiden quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon, having previously failed to secure a victory in three previous attempts. She will face either the tournament’s second seed Gauff or 19th seed E. Navarro in the quarterfinals.