Wimbledon: Paolini becomes first Italian woman to reach round of 16 in first three Slams of the season with victory over Andreescu

Jasmine Paolini had never won a main draw match prior to Wimbledon this year. Now, the No 7 seed can’t seem to lose one. This year’s Roland-Garros runner-up advanced to the last 16 of Wimbledon on Friday, defeating Canadian Bianca Andreescu 7-6 (4), 6-1, making it nine wins from her last ten Grand Slam matches.

Paolini, ranked No 7, will face American Madison Keys, the No 12 seed, in the round of 16.

“She’s an aggressive player, for sure,” Paolini said of Keys. “She serve very fast. I think she’s one of the best hitters in the tour because I love how she plays, how she hit the ball. The keys for the match I think are always the same: try to serve well and to control the point. Also, of course, to return as much as possible and as better as possible. Yeah, try to control the point. I think that’s the key, especially here on grass.”

She is the first Italian woman in the Open Era to make the last 16 at each of the first Grand Slam events in a season.

“It’s strange,” Paolini said of the achievement. She referred to the great Italian women that came in the generation before her, such as Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani.

“When I was watching the girls that were winning slams, making finals, I felt like they were so far from me, you know? Yeah, it’s something that of course I’m proud of, but it sounds strange a little bit. Yeah, I’m happy about this achievement, of course.”

Ahead of her victory, the Italian won against Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo (7-5, 6-3) and Belgian Greet Minnen (7-6 (5), 6-2).

Andreescu, ranked No 176, beat Romanian Jaqueline Cristian (6-4, 6-2) and No 26 seed Linda Noskova (6-3, 7-6 (5)) earlier in the tournament.

Londres (Grand Slam), other third-round results (All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, grass, GBP 50.000.000, most recent results first):

• Harriet Dart vs. Xinyu Wang
• Ons Jabeur vs. Elina Svitolina
• Anna Kalinskaya vs. Liudmila Samsonova
• Elena Rybakina vs. Caroline Wozniacki
• Barbora Krejcikova vs. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
• Danielle Collins vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia
• Bernarda Pera vs. Jelena Ostapenko
• Iga Swiatek vs. Yulia Putintseva
• Sonay Kartal vs. Coco Gauff
• Emma Raducanu vs. Maria Sakkari
• Dayana Yastremska vs. Donna Vekic
• Marta Kostyuk vs. Madison Keys
• Diana Shnaider vs. Emma Navarro: friday
• Daria Kasatkina vs. Paula Badosa: friday
• Lulu Sun vs. Lin Zhu: friday