Centre Court at Wimbledon barely sleeps.
Less than 15 hours after Novak Djokovic and Felix Auger-Aliassime put on a five-hour, 15-minute classic, Marta Kostyuk and Jasmine Paolini were out there for their women’s quarterfinal.
Wednesday’s fixture, much to the disappointment of the fans, didn’t quite live up to being a worthy follow-up, as Kostyuk blasted Paolini out of the competition 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and nine minutes.
But it is a result that will suit the 12th seed just fine, for she will have to return on Thursday for her last-four clash against the ninth seed from Czechia Linda Noskova, who beat Belgium’s Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-5.
It will be Kostyuk’s second straight Major semifinal, and an important milestone in her match towards the WTA top-10.
The 24-year-old might also be secretly happy that she spent 40 minutes less than Noskova on court. Under the unrelenting summer sun, every little edge matters.
Among advantages, Kostyuk can also count her quality of tennis. The Ukrainian was ruthless against Paolini, winning 90% of her first-serve points, 67% of the seconds, and did not allow her Italian opponent a single chance to break.
In the opening set, Kostyuk broke in the fifth and ninth games, the first time with a forehand winner and then courtesy an unforced error from Paolini. Early in the second set, she moved swiftly to shut out the contest, breaking to 3-1.
It was only then that the 2024 finalist freed up and attacked Kostyuk. But at 30-30, the latter served a bullet down the T to which Paolini had no answer.
On her second game-point, Kostyuk drove a fierce backhand that was a near-winner, eliciting a huge mid-point gasp from the crowd. Two exchanges later, it ended in her favour.
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Kostyuk led 4-1, and then 5-2, to leave Paolini on the brink. And such was her tearing hurry that she didn’t even wait for the opportunity to serve it out.
Aided by two excellent backhand winners, she brought up her first match-point. She took it on the second when another driven backhand evaded Paolini’s strike-zone despite an almighty lunge.
“Hello Centre Court!,” said Kostyuk in her victory speech. “It is my first time here and dream come true. I was here as a spectator nine years ago watching Roger [Federer]. It’s special to be back as a player.
My coach made me walk here yesterday [Tuesday], and I was flabbergasted by this entrance and everything inside. I was like ‘wow, I need one day to recover from what I saw’.
“I sat beside [the honour board] and took a moment to soak it all in. I am soaking it all in again now after the win,” Kostyuk added.
In boys’ singles, India’s Arnav Vijay Paparkar brushed aside Japan’s Ryo Tabata 6-2, 6-1 to enter the quarterfinals.
Tabata started with a strapping on his left knee, and before serving at 2-3, he called for the physio. Arnav, 18, capitalised, breaking Tabata twice to win the first set.
In the second, Tabata’s movement was severely compromised and the defeat in 52 minutes was barely a surprise.
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Published on Jul 08, 2026