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

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5 months ago

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

Donna Vekic was beaten by Jasmine Paolini in the longest women’s singles semi-final in Wimbledon history on Thursday evening, as the Croatian struggled to deal with a painful arm injury

Donna Vekic was emotional during and after her loss(Francois Nel/Getty Images)

Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic has revealed that she ‘thought she was going to die’ during her painful defeat to Jasmine Paolini.

Vekic was beaten 6-2, 4-6, 6-7 on Thursday in the longest women’s singles semi-final in Wimbledon history. The Croatian was in serious pain dealing with an arm injury during the pulsating third set on Centre Court.

When Italian opponent Paolini took a 6-5 lead, Vekic burst into tears. The 28-year-old was able to compose herself and force a tiebreak but couldn’t stop Paolini from reaching her first Wimbledon final.

An emotional press conference followed in which a teary-eyed Vekic revealed why she broke down. “I mean, sometimes (crying) can help,” she explained.

“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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