(VIDEO) Emotionally broken Donna Vekic left in floods of tears as Wimbledon semi-final takes its toll
WTAFriday, 12 July 2024 at 09:25
It all got a bit too much for Donna Vekic emotionally during her enthralling semi-final against Jasmine Paolini as the Croat burst into tears during a pivotal tie-break at Wimbledon.
Tasked with the biggest match of her career, Vekic looked to be cruising towards the win in double quick time when she sealed the opening set 6-2. But Paolini is known for her scrappy nature and never say die attitude and roared back with Vekic seemingly battling an injury as well as the Italian.
Spurning multiple break points at 5-5 and sending a shot wide to give Paolini the lead, Vekic looked emotionally broken. She looked towards her corner and sobbed as the tears continued to flow when she sat down at the break. She had a deep breath and brought herself back into a state of calm to win the next game and force the tie-break.
The tears weren't done for Vekic as she left the court barely able to look at the crowd heartbroken. Shows how much it means and in this case, it will feel like so close but yet so far for Vekic given the opening set she had.
“My team tells me that I can be proud of myself. It’s tough right now. It’s really tough. For sure I will need to take a couple of days to see everything. It’s tough to be positive right now. It was so close and I had a lot of chances," said Vekic in her post match press conference.
Spending almost 11 hours on court and five out of six of her matches being three sets, Vekic went through the ringer during her campaign at Wimbledon. But it sums up a career where she has had to toil with injury and nearly giving it up. To finally get a reward like this albeit to get so close and lose to Paolini will be an emotional blow and tough to take despite breaking new ground.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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