No. 4 seed Jasmine Paolini prevailed in a three-set battle at Wimbledon on Monday, but No. 9 seed Paula Badosa was not so fortunate as she lost to British hope Katie Boulter.
Wimbledon: Scores | Order of play | Draws
Here’s the lowdown on these two first-round tussles involving Top 10 players:
Paolini prevails: Italy’s Paolini, last year’s Wimbledon runner-up, posted a come-from-behind 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over returning mom Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia. Paolini took 1 hour and 51 minutes to execute the comeback on No. 2 Court.
Paolini went 0-3 in her first three Wimbledon main-draw showings (including two losses to former champion Petra Kvitova) but that all changed last year in London, when she stormed to her second straight Grand Slam final.
Paolini lost to Barbora Krejcikova in last year’s Wimbledon final, but that run bolstered her grass-court confidence. And she needed all of that mettle to hold off Sevastova on Monday.
After giving birth to her daughter Alexandra in 2023 and a serious ACL injury the following year, former World No. 11 Sevastova was contesting her first Grand Slam main draw since the 2022 Australian Open.
The Latvian sent out an upset alert early, taking the first set as she showed flashes of the form that led her to three straight US Open quarterfinals between 2016 and 2018 (including a semifinal finish in 2018).
But Paolini regrouped in the second set, where she hit 10 winners to Sevastova’s two. Sevastova took a medical time-out after the second set, where she was undone by 13 unforced errors.
Paolini maintained the momentum in the third set, where she once again had the wherewithal to dictate play on the steamy Monday. In a near-carbon copy of the second set Paolini had 13 winners while Sevastova had three.
The win continues Paolini’s magical career turnaround at Grand Slam events. She started her career 4-12 in Grand Slam first-round matches, but since 2023, the Italian has gone a perfect 7-0 in her first-round matches at Slams.
Paolini is one of five women to have reached the third round or better at each of the last six Grand Slam events (along with Iga Swiatek, Elina Svitolina, Coco Gauff and Badosa).
Boulter notches fourth Top 10 win: World No. 43 Boulter, though, stopped Badosa’s run of third-round showings at Slams with an upset victory on Centre Court.
Boulter, the British No. 2, outlasted Badosa 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in 1 hour and 51 minutes on the biggest court of her home Slam. Boulter has now reached the second round or better at every Wimbledon this decade.
It’s a landmark victory for Boulter, who came into the match just 3-16 against Top 10 players in her career. This marks her first Top 10 win since she defeated Jessica Pegula back in the first week of the 2024 season at United Cup.
More to come…