Tearful Vekic struggles to see any positives in epic defeat by Paolini

LONDON : All a sobbing Donna Vekic could feel after the greatest performance of her career was pain, pain and even more pain -and there was nothing anyone could do or say to make her feel any better.

Her arms were aching, her legs were sore all over but the most damaging of all was the mental torment she was left with after coming within two points of reaching a maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon on Thursday.

Unfortunately for the unseeded Croatian, her body and mind let her down just as the finishing line was in sight and after two hours and 51 minutes of heavy-duty action, she swiped a forehand wide to leave a jubilant Jasmine Paolini roaring and skipping around the court in triumph.

As a joyful Paolini blew kisses to her mother in the players' box following the 2-6 6-4 7-6(8) victory, which made her the first Italian woman to reach a Wimbledon singles final, Vekic could barely register what was going on on the other side of the net.

She broke down in tears and started the long, lonely walk towards the Centre Court exit.

Vekic was given a rapturous standing ovation by the 15,000-strong crowd - with even Paolini applauding - for playing a massive part in an enthralling contest that turned out to be the longest ever women's semi-final at the All England Club.

But such was her anguish, and with tears still streaking down her face, no one was sure if Vekic even registered the cheers coming her way.

'SO MUCH PAIN'

An hour later, the emotions were still so raw that she could barely get any words out of her mouth when she turned up for the press conference tennis players are obligated to attend - win or lose.

After a long pause, she slowly said: "It was a tough, tough match. I believed that I could win until the end. She played