Paolini outlasts Gauff in gritty Cincinnati quarterfinal

Jasmine Paolini battled past Coco Gauff on Friday night at the Cincinnati Open, rallying for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 quarterfinal win -- her third victory over the American in as many meetings this year. Along the way, she also pushed through physical strain and the mental toll of the contest.

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Paolini had a scare at the start of the third set when she rolled over her ankle while hitting a running forehand that had too much heat for Gauff to handle. After being visited by the trainer before the next game, she shrugged off any lingering discomfort to quickly break Gauff's serve.

Paolini had lost a handful of matches from winning positions this year -- including a loss to Aoi Ito from 6-2, 4-1 ahead the last time out in Montreal. And it seemed as though another was going to slip through her fingers when she lost nine straight points from 3-1, 40-30 in the third. 

Paolini steadied herself when it mattered most, winning seven points in a row and 12 of the final 15 to reach her fifth semifinal of the season, and her second at WTA 1000 level after lifting the Internazionali BNL d’Italia trophy in May. Gauff struggled with consistency, finishing with 16 double faults and 62 unforced errors in a 2-hour, 3-minute match that featured 14 service breaks.

"It was so tough," Paolini said afterward. "At the beginning, I was just running and trying to put the ball inside the court ... but after a little bit, I started to feel better the ball. 

"I stayed there every point, I tried to fight every point, and it worked."

For a spot in the final, Paolini will have to reverse a string of futility against former Top 10 player Veronika Kudermetova, who's through to her first WTA 1000 semifinal since 2023. She's lost three straight matches against Kudermetova, though they haven't played since meeting at this very tournament in 2021. 

"She's a great player, big serve and big weapons," Paolini said. "It's always tough to play against her ... this one is going to be a different story. She's playing really well, I'm happy with my game here, so let's see what I can do and hopefully it's going to be a good one."