French Open: Jasmine Paolini ‘belongs’ on big stage despite final defeat to Iga Swiatek – Expert reaction
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ByOli Gent
Updated 08/06/2024 at 17:52 GMT
Eurosport experts Mats Wilander, Barbara Schett, and Boris Becker discussed Jasmine Paolini's future at the top of women's tennis after the Italian lost on her Grand Slam final debut to Iga Swiatek at the French Open. The 12th seed was outclassed 6-2 6-1 on Court Philippe-Chatrier by the world No. 1. However, the Eurosport experts believed that this will not be the last we see of Paolini.
'She can definitely grow from it' - Experts say Paolini 'belongs' on big stage
Eurosport experts Mats Wilander, Barbara Schett, and Boris Becker debated Jasmine Paolini’s Grand Slam future after the Italian lost to Iga Swiatek in the French Open final.
The 12th seed was beaten heavily 6-2 6-1 on Court Philippe-Chatrier as she made her Grand Slam final debut, but Swiatek’s quality was just too much for her.
Paolini had never gone past the fourth round of a tournament upon her arrival in Paris, and she hadn’t come into the tournament in exceptional form, having been knocked out in the first round of the Rome Open and the last 16 of the Madrid Open by Mirra Andreeva, who she beat in the semi-finals at Roland-Garros.
However, she defied her doubters to reach the final in Paris, beating fourth seed Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals, before overcoming Aryna Sabalenka’s conqueror, teenager Andreeva, in the last four.
Eurosport expert Mats Wilander believed that the Italian can “learn so much” from her first Slam final.
“She can definitely grow from it,” Wilander, a three-time Roland-Garros champion, said.
“You learn so much from the experience. I don’t know exactly what that is, but it makes you feel calmer the next time you’re in a final. It’s a different story; she’s 28 years old, in the middle of her career. For me, [my perspective] changed to ‘I have a chance to play against the best players in the world’.
“It doesn’t mean winning here meant that I thought I was going to win again; not at all. It felt like you belonged somewhat, and she talked about her confidence getting better. She belongs.”
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Highlights: Dominant Swiatek defeats Paolini to win French Open title
Boris Becker, who himself reached the French Open semi-finals three times, thought that “something must have happened” in the past year to inspire Paolini’s rise.
“If she would have won a match or two all day long and then reached the final here, I wouldn’t have been so sure [about her making another final], but she came in as world No.12, being established,” Becker explained.
“Something must have happened in the last 12 months for her, in her mind or her game. She’s a very good tennis player. She believes she’s a very good tennis player now, and that’s a big difference.”
Barbara Schett thought that the only way is up for Paolini, who will rise to world No. 7 in the WTA rankings.
“She’s slowly starting to believe in herself,” Schett said.
“Once you’ve cracked the top 10, you go up the rankings, thinking, “I’m going to try and get no. 6, no. 4…”. No. 1 is a big task, that’s for sure.”
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'The best days of my life' - 'Proud' Paolini on French Open journey after defeat in final
‘If you told me that I would reach the final, I would have been very surprised’, admits Paolini
The Italian may have lost comprehensively in her Grand Slam final bow, but she was still beaming in defeat.
The 12th seed remarked in an interview with Eurosport that her run to the final in Paris had been “full of emotion”.
“I played a really high level of tennis,” Paolini said.
“It was full of emotion for me. Some nice memories to take home, but it was tough for me today against a magnificent player. I’m still very happy. If you told me that I would reach the final, I would have been very surprised.
“[The support from my family] means a lot; so much passion. I’m so glad that they’ve come here to watch me play and they deserve these kind of moments like I do. I was so happy to see those in my box today.
“I’m really proud [to represent Italian tennis]. It means that my work has paid off. I will keep working hard and I hope to relive this kind of moment again.”
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