JASMINE PAOLINI: “I NEVER DREAMED OF FINDING MYSELF THERE”
After her clear victory against Mirra Andreeva in the semi-finals, Jasmine Paolini looks back on her qualification for the final of the tournament
First quarter-final, first semi-final and now, first Grand Slam final! Jasmine Paolini has been on cloud nine since the start of the year and is levitating at this Roland-Garros. The Italian, who will enter the top 10 at the end of the fortnight, looks back on her sensational qualification for the final , where she will meet the triple Roland champion, Iga Swiatek.
You are going to play a Grand Slam final. Have you ever dreamed of it?
Jasmine Paolini : I don't really know, it's a difficult question! Of course, I watched the finals of the Grand Slam tournaments, I watched the Italians and all the players who won them. But imagining myself in their place was complicated. Of course, I hoped so, but right now, it's something totally crazy to me. I am so happy and surprised at the same time.
What did you dream of in tennis when you were little?
When I started playing tennis, I was just happy to do it. I wasn't dreaming too much, I was just playing for fun. Then I started training to be a professional tennis player, I dreamed of becoming one. But I never dreamed of being world No. 1, Grand Slam champion... I never had such a big dream. Maybe I never even dreamed of being in the top 10! Well, I hoped so but I didn't really believe it.
Then I started to believe, to dream, but in things that seemed accessible to me, not too far away. Which I think is not a very good thing because it's important to dream. I started to dream step by step. It always surprised me when I saw interviews with "Nole" when he was little, in which he said that he had always wanted to be world No. 1, to win Wimbledon... I said to myself: " It's amazing to be able to dream of this kind of thing when you're a child." Or Jannik (Sinner), when he was 15, who said his dream was to become world No. 1. For me, it's different, I never dreamed of finding myself in the Grand Slam final. But I'm here ! And I'm so happy. I think I'm a little different person from others...
Your smile is communicative, it seems like it almost never lets you go...
I'm not always like that, but I try to be. To be honest, I smile a lot, as you can see! (Laughs) But it's not always like that. When I don't smile, it means I'm not feeling very well. My coach is always worried when he sees that I don't smile in training or in matches. He always tells me to have fun, to smile because it's important to me as a person. I need to smile, not to worry. It's not always easy because things don't always go the way we want them to. But I'm happy to be like that, to smile a lot! (Laughs)
Was there a particular turning point in your career for you to perform so much in recent months?
No, I don't think there was a moment when anything changed, it was more of a long process. I started to play better and better against the big players whereas before, I always took 6/1, 6/1 or 6/2, 6/1, there was no match...
Afterwards, I started to really get closer to their level in matches. I lost almost all of them, but I got closer and closer and it helped me gain confidence. Today, with the victories achieved, I have gained more confidence in my game and in myself. Now, I go on court with the idea that I can win the match and I think that's the real trigger.
