Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic successfully pulled off a tough comeback against Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday to reach her first Wimbledon final, with the three-set victory setting up a showdown against Italy's Jasmine Paolini, who also secured a debut appearance in the title match at the All England Club following a marathon 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 triumph over Donna Vekic of Croatia.
In other action in southwest London, two Chinese pairs advanced in the women's wheelchair doubles event, with Zhu Zhenzhen and Li Xiaohui progressing to the last four alongside and Guo Luoyao and Wang Ziying.
Barbora Krejcikova celebrates reaching the Wimbledon women's singles final in London, United Kingdom, July 11, 2024. /CFP
Rybakina had threatened to run away with the contest in the first set, after racing to a 5-1 lead with her brand of full-throttle high-intensity tennis.
But after dropping the opener, 2021 French Open champion Krejcikova dug in and eventually solved the puzzle on the other side of the net, breaking in the sixth game of the second set on her way to leveling the contest.
With the momentum having shifted in her favor, the Czech took control in the decider, breaking in the seventh game when Rybakina netted an attempted drop shot.
She brought up three match points with a smash at the net, before finally being able to celebrates when Rybakina sent a backhand long.
"I am so proud about my game and my fighting spirit today," Krejcikova said as she basked in the applause of the Centre Court crowd.
"I was trying to fight for every single ball. During the second set I was getting my momentum, and when I broke her I started to be in the zone, and I didn't want to leave the zone."
The 31st seed, who lifted her sole Grand Slam singles trophy at Roland Garros in 2021, had never previously gone past the fourth round at Wimbledon, and came into the tournament on the back of a season marred by injury and illness.
Jasmine Paolini in action during the Wimbledon women's singles semifinals in London, United Kingdom, July 11, 2024. /CFP
The other semifinal saw Paolini reach her second Grand Slam final of the year, after coming up short last month against Poland's World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the French Open final.
The Italian and fellow 28-year-old Vekic were both in uncharted territory, with the Croatian playing in the first major semifinal of her career, while Paolini had never won a match on grass before this season.
Vekic took the opening set comfortably, having broken Paolini, a surprise finalist at Roland Garros last month, in the fifth game and then again in the seventh with her mixture of ground strokes and drop shots proving too much under a sunny sky.
But Paolini, cheered on by a loud contingent of Italians in the crowd, got more aggressive in the second as she approached the net more often and put Vekic on the back foot. Her diligence and energy eventually paid off with a break to clinch the set.
The pair exchanged multiple breaks in the decider as both racked up unforced errors, particularly Vekic, who appeared more fatigued and emotional as the match wore on. She was in tears after saving Paolini's first match point.
A successful challenge to overturn a line call helped Paolini hold an almost 10-minute game that ended with Vekic sobbing in her chair at the changeover.
The Croatian rallied to save another match point and held serve to force a tiebreak, but looked particularly labored as she made 57 unforced errors in total, and voiced her frustration to coach Pam Shriver in the player's box.
Paolini, in contrast, looked just as energized as she did at the start. She prevailed and won the two hour, 51 minute epic, during which both players ran more than 3.5 kilometers, to become the first Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon final.
Chinese pairs advance to semifinals in women's wheelchair doubles
In women's wheelchair doubles action, China's Zhu and Li made short work of Colombian and British duo Angelica Bernal and Lucy Shuker 6-3, 6-0 to reach the semifinals, joining compatriots Guo and Wang after they also entered the last four.
Zhu was the singles runner-up at this year's French Open, but failed to move out of the first round at Wimbledon after losing to Japan's Yui Kamiji 6-0, 6-4. She then took more time to adapt to the grass at the season's third Grand Slam, and is now one step away from the doubles final alongside her partner Li.