Paolini rescues holders Italy against China in Billie Jean King Cup quarter-final

[p]The Italians rallied back from a 1-0 deficit early in the tie to book a last-four meeting on Saturday with Ukraine, who edged past Belgium earlier in the day at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/paolini-jasmine/noaX0EJn/"]Paolini[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/errani-sara/UqnOkX4F/"]Sara Errani[/a] were pushed to their limits and had to overcome fatigue and nerves before they squeezed past [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/guo-hanyu/CEFSKodt/"]Guo Hanyu[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jiang-xinyu/O20kf5fn/"]Jiang Xinyu[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/errani-s-UqnOkX4F/paolini-j-noaX0EJn/?mid=dUPQMj2N"]6-3, 5-7, 6-3[/a] in a deciding doubles clash that ended just shy of 1:00 am.[/p][embed guid="fde90374-3539-404d-80a8-92fb099bab02" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mgsKc0F-AI" social-type="youtube" /][p][b]“It feels amazing. When we saw the draw that again we were up against China, we were like, woah, it's so tough, one more time to play the home team,”[/b] said Paolini, who was also part of the Italian side that beat China in last year’s quarter-finals.[/p][p]“It's always tough and this year, maybe it was even tougher. But I think we did an amazing job, I think it was an amazing show today.”[/p][p]In her first Billie Jean King Cup on-court appearance for China since 2021, world number 55 [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zhang-shuai/OY0ZExo5/"]Zhang Shuai[/a] crushed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cocciaretto-elisabetta/pA0aW3EL/"]Elisabetta Cocciaretto[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/cocciaretto-e-pA0aW3EL/zhang-s-OY0ZExo5/?mid=CvLWro0L"]6-0, 6-2[/a] in 62 minutes, giving the hosts an early advantage in the tie.[/p][embed guid="9c351a8c-134a-4c61-8800-e21cb1ca842f" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCJmb_PxdHg" social-type="youtube" /][p][b]“I'm 37 years old. I play everything many times. I think I can handle this moment,”[/b] said Zhang after the match.[/p][p]Paolini then came to the rescue, posting her first victory in four meetings with Olympic champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zheng-qinwen/xCyEhjAS/"]Zheng Qinwen[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/paolini-j-noaX0EJn/zheng-q-xCyEhjAS/?mid=rNB2wPNr"]6-3, 7-6(4)[/a] to keep Italy’s bid for a threepeat alive and force a deciding doubles.[/p][p]Zheng broke Paolini as she was serving for the win in the second set and had the better start in the tiebreak but the Italian two-time Grand Slam runner-up recovered to secure the point in straight sets.[/p][p]It was Paolini’s ninth consecutive victory at the Billie Jean King Cup and she claimed her 10th three hours later when she partnered Errani for the doubles win.[/p][embed guid="f1c7620b-9a15-41fd-b72c-b475bf61c755" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP8ZbrE0lKw" social-type="youtube" /][p]Both Italians struggled on serve but relied on their long-time successful partnership, which yielded them Olympic gold and a Roland Garros crown within the last three years, to stave off a stiff challenge from the Chinese.[/p][h2]Ukraine triumph[/h2][p]Meanwhile, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kalinina-anhelina/zNoTPac0/"]Anhelina Kalinina[/a] was the hero of the day for Ukraine as she won both her singles and doubles matches to contribute the two points needed to overcome a stubborn Belgium team and secure her nation a second consecutive semi-final appearance at the Billie Jean King Cup.[/p][p][b]“It's been a long day today with a lot of, lot of tennis,”[/b] said the 29-year-old Kalinina.[/p][p]“[b]I'm really happy for our team, that we made this team effort and we get through this challenge, for sure, because I think today Team Belgium showed really, really great and high-quality tennis[/b].”[/p][embed guid="cb2f6387-c174-4cf9-b562-dd1a9020b4cd" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKodvTc6st0&pp=0gcJCS8MAYcqIYzv" social-type="youtube" /][p]Back on team Ukraine for the first time since her competition debut three years ago, Kalinina opened the tie with a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/kalinina-a-zNoTPac0/otzipka-j-GvqL4vFC/?mid=YTwzRDH0"]6-7(6), 6-1, 6-1[/a] victory over world number 474 [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/otzipka-jana/GvqL4vFC/"]Jana Otzipka[/a].[/p][p]The 21-year-old Otzipka was making her first Billie Jean King Cup appearance for Belgium and dug deep to clinch a tight 58-minute first set against an opponent positioned 426 spots higher than her in the rankings.[/p][p]In the second singles match of the tie, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/minnen-greetje/QoLeDQFG/"]Greet Minnen[/a] battled for two hours and 47 minutes to pull off an impressive [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/minnen-g-QoLeDQFG/svitolina-e-jyngIesG/?mid=tfsrPinD"]6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4[/a] upset over Ukrainian world number seven [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monfils-elina/jyngIesG/"]Elina Svitolina[/a] and keep Belgium’s hopes alive.[/p][p]Kalinina then returned to the court, teaming up with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kichenok-lyudmyla/bLgKtc3K/"]Lyudmyla Kichenok[/a] for a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/kalinina-a-zNoTPac0/kichenok-l-bLgKtc3K/?mid=6ZcgW8gt"]6-3, 6-3[/a] victory against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kempen-magali/AgiLFeyF/"]Magali Kempen[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/salden-lara/4GdipyKm/"]Lara Salden[/a] that completed the 2-1 triumph for Ukraine.[/p]