Jasmine Paolini foresees Aryna Sabalenka ‘killing’ her in Stuttgart semifinal after knocking out Coco Gauff
Jasmine Paolini is 2-4 against Aryna Sabalenka and the Stuttgart Open match will be their second clash this season.
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Jasmine Paolini, Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/Jimmie48, Photography, The Tennis Letter)
Jasmine Paolini has set up a match against World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka. On Saturday (April 19), Paolini became the reason behind Coco Gauff‘s elimination at the Stuttgart Open, clinching the win with a 6-4, 6-3 scoreline, which was also her first win over the American in their third meeting.
The World No.3 has failed to win more than two matches since reaching the Australian Open semifinal. She won the United Cup with Team USA earlier this year but in singles events, she is trophy-less, last lifting a title at the 2024 WTA Finals.
Sabalenka, before reaching the final, breezed past her former doubles partner Elise Mertens. The Belarusian has met the World No.6 six times and leads 4-2 in the head-to-head meetings. After winning the match against Gauff, Paolini said she is expecting nothing less than a tough battle against the three-time Grand Slam singles champion.
My goal is to fight every match, to be in the match, to have the chance to win, to be there, you know? Because before I was losing 6-2, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1. I don’t want to say that because maybe tomorrow Sabalenka will kill me. Maybe tomorrow it’s going to be tough, but I feel better on court, let’s say that.
Jasmine Paolini said during her on-court interview
Last year on the clay swing, the Italian reached the French Open final but was no match for World No.2 Iga Swiatek who ended the tournament in her favor for the fourth time and a third consecutive times.
The upcoming match will be their second clash of the season following the Miami Open semifinal where Sabalenka went past her with a 6-2, 6-2 scoreline before beating home favorite Jessica Pegula to lift her first singles title in the Sunshine Double tournaments. Sabalenka is searching for her first title in the tournament.
Prior to this season, she made it to the final in 2022 and 2023, losing both to Swiatek. Sabalenka is also bidding to win her third title of the season after she captured the titles in Brisbane and Miami. If she beats Paolini, she will then be advancing to her fifth final of the season as apart from the aforementioned tournaments, she has also played in the Australian Open and the Indian Wells finals.
Aryna Sabalenka is confident about her performance on the clay swing
Aryna Sabalenka has clinched 19 singles titles so far, two of which came on clay. They were: the 2022 and 2023 Madrid Open titles. But Sabalenka, who practiced on clay for a week before entering the Stuttgart Open, said that she has confidence in her game and explained what she should do to continue her dominance.
I think I will continue to improve on clay because I am increasingly able to maintain maximum concentration for longer periods and, physically, I am a very powerful player. I see myself ready for great battles on this surface and I have realized that I should not rush to find winners and I need to adjust my game a bit.
Aryna Sabalenka said during her on-court interview
Last year on the clay swing, Sabalenka reached two finals: in Madrid and Rome, losing both to Iga Swiatek. But in Stuttgart last year, she fell in three sets in the quarterfinals. If Swiatek was successful in securing her first win against Jelena Ostapenko in their sixth meeting (in the quarterfinals), she could have set up a blockbuster clash with Sabalenka in the final.
In the ongoing tournament, Sabalenka progressed to the quarterfinal without playing a match. She was scheduled to lock horns with Anastasia Potapova but she withdrew from the tournament after beating Clara Tauson in the first round.
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