Paolini, ranked World No.142, showed what she could do in a stunning middle set against the World No.5, which thrilled the home crowd that stayed late into the night to support her. 

In the second set, Paolini landed 85 percent of her first serves and dropped just four points in her four service games, breaking an increasingly erratic Bertens twice to seal a breadstick.

After hitting 12 winners to 20 unforced errors in the first set, Bertens could not balance out her total as well in the second set, of which Paolini duly took advantage.

Despite only hitting five winners, Paolini made just three unforced herself, as Bertens hit 12 unforced to just four winners en route to losing the last five games.

However, with the sizable crowd that remained firmly in her corner, the inexperienced Italian, playing in her second career WTA quarterfinal, could not push her momentum far into the decider.