LONDON -- A day after yesterday’s bleak weather at Wimbledon looked like the end of the world, the sun came out. A day after Italian number one Jannik Sinner succumbed to Daniil Medvedev, Italy unexpectedly had reasons to cheer. The fragrantly named Jasmine Paolini, a virtual unknown earlier this spring, suddenly seems likely to reach the final at Wimbledon just as she reached the final at the French Open. Now ranked number seven in the world, she is scheduled to confront Donna Vekic in the semifinals.

 On paper Vekic, an unseeded Croatian, doesn’t figure to give her much trouble. But of course, tennis matches at Wimbledon are played on grass which has proven to be slippery and tricky for everyone this year. The theory is that with the roofs closed because of rain, humidity has added to the courts’ normal slickness. Seeded players Hubi Hurkacz, Grigor Dimitrov and Alex DeMinaur all had to retire injured. Sascha Zverev claimed after his fourth-round defeat to Taylor Fritz that he was essentially playing on one leg. But Paolini, who’s a midget among female giants, has a low centre of gravity and should make it to the final where she’ll face former Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina whom she just beat at the French Open.

 At a Wimbledon which has always been replete with surprises, nothing has been more amazing than Lorenzo Musetti’s long march to today’s quarterfinal against tall, high-powered American Taylor Fritz. When Musetti seemed to have smashed into a brick wall while losing the first set, the BBC announcers didn’t give him much hope. But as Musetti explained in a courtside interview after the match, he changed tactics in the second set and began chipping, sometimes slicing, his return of serve, preventing Fritz from using the speed of the ball against him. Instead, Fritz frequently had to rush forward to the net where he was at his most vulnerable.

 As the match metamorphosed into a chess game, Musetti proved to be the superior tactician. Although Fritz hung on to win the fourth set, he appeared to run out of fuel and ideas in the final fifth set. Musetti bolted to a 5-0 lead and ended by hanging what’s called on the tennis tour a “breadstick,” un grissino, on Fritz.

 Thus, for the first time in 40 years there will be an Italian in the women’s semifinal and in the men’s. Although neither figures to be favoured if they reach the final, all of Italy will be rooting them on.