Staff Reporter.
Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian woman to reach the Italian Open semi-finals since 2014 when she beat Russian world number 11 Diana Shnaider 6-7(1) 6-4 6-2 on Tuesday.
Having won the opening set after a tie-break, Shnaider led 3-0 in the second before rain interrupted play.
Shnaider held serve to stretch her advantage to 4-0 after play resumed but Paolini, backed by the vociferous home support, won the next six games to level the match.
Paolini, who cruised to victory in the deciding set, paid testament to Errani for her influential words of encouragement during the rain delay.
“It was a good thing that it rained for five minutes. I got some coaching from Sara,” Paolini said of Errani, who was watching from the stands.
The 29-year-old will face either two-time Italian Open winner Elina Svitolina or Peyton Stearns in the last four.
Raffaella Reggi was the last Italian woman to win the tournament in 1985.
In the men’s draw, four-times Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz recovered from a second set blip to beat world number 24 Karen Khachanov 6-3 2-6 7-5 and reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
The third seed will next face Britain’s world number five Jack Draper, who rallied from a set down to beat Frenchman Corentin Moutet 1-6 6-4 6-3.