Wimbledon star admits ‘I thought I was going to die’ after emotional defeat

“My tears were not because I was… I mean, I don’t know. I was more crying because I had so much pain, I didn’t know how I could keep playing. But somehow, I don’t know… I’m sorry.”

Vekic went on to say: “I mean, I thought I was going to die in the third set. I had so much pain in my arm, in my leg. It was not easy out there, but I will recover.”

The world No.37 had considered retirement after being knocked out in the third round of the French Open earlier this year, admitting that she had a lack of motivation to continue her career. However, the semi-final appearance was her best ever run in a singles major.

“It was a tough, tough match,” Vekic continued. “I believed that I could win until the end. [Paolini] played some amazing tennis. All congrats to her. She definitely deserved it.

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“My team tells me that I can be proud of myself. It’s tough right now. It’s really tough. For sure I will need to take a couple of days to see everything. Yeah, I don’t know, it’s tough to be positive right now. It was so close. I had a lot of chances.”

The moderator of her post-match press conference then stepped in as Vekic welled up once more. She’ll now make a decision on her career following an impressive campaign at SW19.

Paolini, meanwhile, is gearing up for Saturday’s final against Barbora Krejcikova, who beat 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in three sets. The women’s singles tournament has been dominated by big-name exits, with the top two in the world – Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff – both losing their last-16 matches.

Even last year’s champion, Marketa Vondrousova, suffered a stunning first-round defeat to Jessica Bouzas. The final between Paolini and Krejcikova is set to start at 2pm.