Surprise guest in the final, the Italian is living a waking dream.
The patient Italian, Jasmine Paolini, waited until the age of 28 to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final. Better late… “It’s a fantastic feeling to be in the final of a Grand Slam. I don’t know, it seems impossible to me but it’s reality. So I’m really happy to be in this position. It’s something totally crazy. I’m happy and surprised at the same time, and that’s my feeling right now. If you dream too much, it’s not so positive. It’s important to dream, but I started dreaming step by step. For me, it’s always surprising when I saw interviews with Nole (Novak Djokovic) when I was a kid and he said he always wanted to be No. 1 at Wimbledon, I was like, ‘That’ “It’s amazing to be able to have this type of dream as a child.” I didn’t have this type of dream as a child. Jannik, when he was 15, said his dream was to become world No. 1. For me, it’s different, I never dreamed of finding myself in the Grand Slam final. But I’m here”underlined the player coached by the Spaniard Conchita Martinez, also a finalist in the Paris tournament in 2000, beaten by Mary Pierce.
Already assured of entering the world’s top 10 with her qualification in the last four, Jasmine Paolini will become 7th thanks to this victory. The Italian, of Polish origin, could even be 5th if she wins the title. To do this, she will have to overthrow the Polish Iga Swiatek. A very complicated mission: “I try to speak Polish, but it’s not easy. I’m a little shy, because I don’t feel very comfortable in this language. But when I see her, I say “Congratulations” for the title she has just won, for example. And she does the same. She congratulated me after Dubai and wished me good luck. After the matches, when we met in the locker room, I try to speak Polish, but it’s not easy for me. But yes, we have relationships. Iga is an incredible player. Like I said, she’s so young, but she has so many Grand Slam wins. She has won three times here. She succeeds week after week! I have enormous respect for her. But my goal is to go on the court on Saturday, try to enjoy my match, enjoy this moment, and try to have a good match, to play well on the court.
