Paolini hopes to one-up last year’s success story
03.22.25
By Harvey Fialkov
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Before her breakthrough season last year petite Italian Jasmine Paolini was able to sneak into matches and watch her peers play without a problem.
After winning the Dubai Masters 1000 title and then reaching the finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the 5-foot-4 pixie with the 24-7 smile, has lost her cloak of anonymity.
However, the sixth-seeded Paolini, 29, has struggled in Miami, until this week when she finally strung together two match wins in a row after affable Tunisian Ons Jabeur had to retire and be helped off the court with a left calf muscle injury Saturday morning at the Miami Open Masters 1000 presented by Itaú.
Paolini was leading 4-3 at the time and will move on to the fourth round to face unseeded but certainly dangerous Naomi Osaka, who eked out a 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-4 3-hour victory over American 98th-ranked Hailey Baptiste.
“[Jabeur] is such a great person and to see her [injured] on the court, it’s not a good thing,’’ said Paolini, now 2-2 against Jabeur, who was ranked No. 2 in June 2022 but is now 30th. “I used to be able to go watch some matches [of my peers], but now I can’t. I have to hide myself. But it’s great to have so many fans and a lot of support on court. Nobody used to know me.”
Last year Paolini surprised the tennis world and herself with two trips to major finals. Suddenly, she couldn’t walk down the streets of Rome without being besieged by autograph and selfie-seekers.
She wouldn’t have it any other way. However, while she tries to avoid great expectations, Paolini won’t ignore them.
“Last year I kind of surprised at every tournament so this year I’m trying to have a balance between expectations that I have,’’ said Paolini, who has struggled since Wimbledon, going 12-7 this year without getting past the round of 16 in any of her four tournaments. Her only other title came in September 2021 at a WTA 125 in Slovenia.
“I’m trying to keep them low and focus on what I have to do on the court,’’ she said. “I also try to remember last year because it was such a great year and gave me so much confidence. I’m trying to bring that confidence to this new year and make a new story and to try to rise again to make a great story.
“You can’t compare this year with the last one, but I will try my best and at the end of the year. If it’s going worse, it doesn’t matter. As long as I’m still having fun.”
Paolini has never faced Osaka, a 2022 finalist in Miami, but knows what to expect.
“I expect big serve, big return, of course,’’ she said. “I have to stay in every point, be solid, be consistent every point. It’s not going to be easy because she’s playing so fast.”
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka barely broke a sweat on Stadium Court in a 6-1 victory as Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse retired with a right thigh injury. The Belarusian has defeated the last 17 qualifiers she has faced and is 27-1 against players ranked outside the Top 50 since August 2024.
Sabalenka, 26, who has a home in Miami, has needed just 98 minutes to reach the fourth round.
“Today’s match is not the way I wanted to win,’’ Sabalenka said. “I’m playing good tennis and there’s nothing wrong winning easy.”
Her next match isn’t expected to be a walk on the beach as she will play defending champion and 15th-seeded Danielle Collins of St. Petersburg, who battled through a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Swiss qualifier Rebeka Masarova in 2:24.
That said, Sabalenka is 6-0 versus Collins, 31, including three wins at the US Open.
“We’ve had a lot of great battles in the past,’’ Sabalenka said. “She’s like full on. … Very aggressive tennis when we play against each other. On the court we are both kind of crazy in a way but off the court she’s the nicest person.”
Coco Gauff, the third seed, matched her best Miami Open tournament by reaching the fourth round for the third time with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over athletic 51st-ranked Greek Maria Sakkari in a quick rematch from Indian Wells, where the Delray Beach native also prevailed in the third round, 7-6 (1), 6-2.
Sakkari, who was ranked No. 3 in 2021, has now dropped 12 of her last 13 matches against players ranked in the Top 10.
“That was the goal today, to go out there and have fun on the court,’’ Gauff said. “That’s what I feel like, that’s how I’m playing. … I was just trying to be loose out there. I think in the past there’s a little bit of pressure playing at home.
“I play my best tennis when I’m playing relaxed and playing loose.”
American Taylor Townsend, who’s trying to elevate her singles game to her elite doubles status (No. 2 with two Grand Slams), had a good run from qualifying but was unable to deal with the powerful groundstrokes of ninth-seeded Qinwen Zheng of China in a 6-1, 7-6 (3) loss late Saturday.
