* Paolini first Italian in the final since Errani in 2014 * Paolini will face Zheng or Gauff in the final * Sinner Runes Ruud to reach semi’s (add the sinner result) Rome, May 15 (Reuters) Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian woman in more than a decade of her home in Italian Open Peyton Stearn’s beat. Paolini is the first Italian to advance after the final in Rome, as her doubles partner Sara Errani lost to Serena Williams in 2014. Paolini found herself a set and 4-0 in front of Diana Shnaider in her quarterfinals before being to a win, and once again the world number five had a slow start before having a setback. “I’m very happy, I don’t know what to say! It’s a dream to be here, it’s a dream to play in Italy, it’s a dream to play the final,” the 29-year-old said. Any hope for a quick start for Paolini was brought to rest when Stearns jumped in a 3-0 lead amid subdued applause from the home crowd and the Italian soon led her 4-1. The American looked comfortable and was ready to take the opening set before Paolini clapped her when she saved set points to level it at 5-5, pumping her fist with a triumphant scream that made the crowd roar again. The return was completed when Paolini, after winning four games in succession, took the opening set to more than an hour’s game. The momentum was firmly with Paolini, as she broke Stearns for a fifth time to stand in the second set 4-1 and the demarcated American had no answer, as the Italian winners whispered past her. Stearns fired a front at the match point when the crowd burst out and Paolini raised her arms in celebration of the celebration. “You (the crowd) boosted me because it was an uphill today and I struggled at the beginning, thank you for being there,” she added. “We won this game together. Point to point I managed to fight, to turn it around, even if I didn’t have a good feeling at the beginning. But I am pleased with the way I managed to turn this game around. ‘ Paolini will face the final of Zheng Qinwen or Coco Gauff in Saturday. Ruthless Sinner It was a good day for Italy, as men’s world number one Jannik sunker posted a merciless performance in the evening session to dissolve the newly crowned Madrid Open champion Casper Ruud 6-0 6-1 in the quarterfinals. Sinner dropped only seven points in the opening set, winning eight games in succession before Ruud managed to get on the board. The Norwegian even lifted his arms in a ridiculous celebration when he finally won a match amid cheering from the home fans, but a sinner was not in the mood to hang around, as he wrapped the match in 63 minutes to make his first semi-final in Rome. “I felt good on the court today. I think we saw it all. My goal was to try to understand where my level is here in this tournament. It increased day by day, so I’m very happy about it,” Sinner said. “It doesn’t really matter, the result, but how I felt today was a very, very positive sign for me … I think today everything worked very well. I served well and also returned well and moved well on the track. ‘ Sinner plays American Tommy Paul, while the other semi -final will achieve his Italian compatriot Lorenzo Musetti against Spanish third seed Carlos Alcaraz. (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge and Toby Davis)
Tennis-paolini first Italian over 11 years to reach the final of Rome, ruor ruud
