It was tough. I'm still thinking about the second set. I could have performed better. I had many, many chances and made some stupid mistakes, says the fourth-seeded Italian after the loss.
Paolini, who won the doubles in the French Championships with her partner Sara Errani earlier in June, explains:
It's hard to accept. I'm a bit tired now. It's been two intense months on the way here.
The final score was 4–6, 6–4, 6–4 to Rachimova.
Paolini is not alone, more stars have been eliminated from this year's tournament: both world number two Coco Gauff and world number three Jessica Pegula were eliminated in the first round, just like the fifth-seeded Zheng Qinwen.
Only Aryna Sabalenka remains of the top five-seeded players.
