Last Ball Drops Wimbledon: Paolini ends Eala run | Kostyuk milestone | Noskova favourite for final?

**John Silk** (0:00)
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**Amanda** (0:05)
My name is Clara Tausson, and I'm a friend of the show.

**Brenna** (0:10)
I am Francisco George, and I'm a friend of the show.

**John Silk** (0:13)
Perfect.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:14)
Hi, my name is Susan Lehmans, and I'm a friend of the show.

**Amanda** (0:18)
My name is Zainab Samas, and I'm a friend of the show. Boom.
Hey guys, my name is Sasha Vickery, and I'm a friend of the show.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:26)
Boom.
Hi, my name is Lloyd Harris, and I'm a friend of the show. Perfect.

**Brenna** (0:33)
Hi, my name is Jamfaria, and I'm a friend of the show.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:36)
Boom.

**Brenna** (0:37)
Yes.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:37)
Take one. Well done. Hi, my name is Jasmine Paolini, and I'm a friend of the show. Wow, Jasmine, you got it in one time.

**Brenna** (0:46)
Ready. Play.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:59)
Well, after a suspension for one of the most well-known sports people in North America, and they have had some government intervention, and now they have been reinstated, welcome back Brenna Morton.

**Brenna** (1:14)
Ha ha ha, I appreciate that introduction. That means I'm important.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:19)
Yeah. So how you doing?

**Brenna** (1:23)
I'm great, I'm great.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:25)
And how are you?

**Brenna** (1:25)
Happy to be back. Happy to make an impact, or ready, ready to make an impact rather.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:30)
And how are you, Amanda?

**Brenna** (1:32)
I'm good.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:33)
All right. Let's get into this.
Day nine, I think it is, but also the end of the fourth rounds. And of course, much like the draw, our shows are also getting a little briefer and a little bit more thinned out. Although of course today we didn't quite get all the action completed as we'll get to. I do think we're going to begin though with the women's action and Jasmine Paolini emerging in a three-step win over Alex and Eala. Brenna, this match, it felt at times like it was a bit slow motion. It didn't quite have the same levels of quality. It had some moments and it was intriguing.
But I felt like Alex as sometimes does happen with her runs that they kind of run out of steam. The longer she stays in a tournament, the more taping we see in various parts of her body. And it felt a little bit like that on her side. Paolini was solid without being spectacular. I think the interesting element to her is the year that she's had and also the way she began this tournament and where we're at now. And she's obviously in a Wimbledon quarterfinal. I don't think many of us saw that 10 days ago. What are your reflections on this encounter?

**Brenna** (2:49)
Yeah, Paolini, kind of impressive that she's still in it. Definitely took a lot of inspiration, I think, from that first round win over Montgomery. Suffered that first set bagel. And yeah, just kind of played herself, not necessarily into form, but maybe giving her a little bit more confidence round by round. Coming up against Eala here, maybe she was surprised by the opponent. You know, maybe would have thought it was Iga. But I'd say she backed herself well here. Definitely an interesting match. And for me, Paolini played, you know, played like a little bit more aggressive, trying to play more front foot tennis. Because Eala, I think, can kind of stretch you out a bit, especially like backhand wing, a lot of angle off that backhand. And obviously the forehand can kind of vary in terms of height and width. But Paolini playing a little bit more front foot tennis, more aggressive than maybe I remember in previous years, taking the ball a little bit more early and got to the net a lot this match. And I think she found success up there.
So not sure if that was necessarily like the game plan going in. Her previous match, I think, was one and two. So I don't know if she took too much from it.
If anything, a lot of confidence. And momentum. But yeah, got on the front foot a lot today. And has to be kind of feeling good about herself. And she's always someone who brings a lot of character, especially with Irani in the box. It's a very vocal box, a lot of communication. They're looking at each other a lot. And she tried to stay positive. And I think that definitely helped her get this victory.

**SPEAKER_4** (4:39)
Yeah, right. I also saw, again, I don't know if it was a tactic or if it's just sometimes that's how it pans out. I saw Eala going a lot down the center of the court. Certainly during the first set anyway, tried to avoid giving Paolini some of the angle that she enjoys. But again, it might not necessarily, sometimes you just end up hitting those shots. I don't know as well with regarding Alex, whether she was a bit anxious or whether those physical travails that I highlighted were hampering her at all.