NINGBO, China — Italian second seed Jasmine Paolini kept her hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals alive with a gritty comeback win over Belinda Bencic, beating Switzerland’s Tokyo Olympic gold medallist 5-7 7-5 6-3 in the Ningbo Open quarter-finals.
Paolini will face third-seed Elena Rybakina in the semis, after the Russian-born Kazakh took less than an hour to beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-2 6-0.
Twice Grand Slam finalist Paolini needs a win over Rybakina in the last four to qualify for next month’s WTA Finals in Riyadh.
The contest against Bencic at the WTA 500 hardcourt tournament, which lasted a marathon three hours and 22 minutes, marked the longest match of Paolini’s season.
Bencic, 28, served for the match at 5-4 in the second set but was unable to close it out. Her momentum was further interrupted in the deciding set when she took a medical time-out due to a thigh issue while trailing 4-3.
“One of the toughest I ever played, honestly,” Paolini, who was the runner-up at last year’s French Open and Wimbledon, said.
“Belinda, she’s an amazing player and a very good person. She deserved to win as well, so it was really tough.
“I’m happy I stayed there, because at the beginning I had too many mistakes. I couldn’t find my best tennis, but then I just tried to stay there every point and turn the match somehow,” Paolini added according to Reuters.
Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys have all qualified for the season-ending championship of the WTA Tour in Riyadh, with two spots still up for grabs.
