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Match details
Fixture: (1) Aryna Sabalenka vs Jasmine Paolini
Date: October 5, 2023
Tournament: China Open 2023
Round: Third round (Round of 16)
Venue: National Tennis Center, Beijing, China
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $8,127,389
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Aryna Sabalenka vs Jasmine Paolini preview
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka will play against Jasmine Paolini in the third round of the 2023 China Open on Thursday.
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Sabalenka eased past Sofia Kenin in straight sets to book a second round showdown against qualifier Katie Boulter. The Belarusian fell behind 5-3 in the first set, but kept herself in contention by breaking her opponent's serve.
Sabalenka then saved eight break points for a gutsy service hold to make it 6-5. She then snagged a break of serve in the following game to clinch the set. The two were evenly matched for the better part of the second set.
Boulter went up a break and served for the set at 5-4, but failed to do so successfully. Sabalenka took the set to a tie-break and came out on top in it to win the match 7-5, 7-6 (2).
Paolini earned a comeback win over 15th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia to make the second round, where she faced Yuan Yue. The first set slipped out of the Italian's grasp as she was completely outclassed by her opponent.
Paolini got back on track by claiming the second set to level the proceedings. She broke the Chinese player's serve twice in the third set to go 3-0 up. While the Italian relinquished a part of her advantage, she didn't squander her lead completely and notched up a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback win.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Jasmine Paolini head-to-head
Paolini leads Sabalenka 2-1 in the head-to-head. The former won their previous encounter at the 2022 Indian Wells Open in three sets.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Jasmine Paolini odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Aryna Sabalenka vs Jasmine Paolini prediction
Boulter gave a good account of herself, but was unable to get the better of an out of sorts Sabalenka. The latter was far from her best, but managed to prevail in the end. Her serving yips made a comeback after a while and she struggled to find a good range on her shots.
But finding a way to win when her game's not clicking is something Sabalenka knows how to do quite well. Paolini, meanwhile, staged a comeback yet again to keep her campaign in Beijing aflaot. Having recovered from a set down to defeat Haddad Maia, she did the same against Yuan in the previous round.
Paolini is also one of the few players to have a winning record against Sabalenka. However, the fast courts in Beijing do favor the World No. 1, with her brand of first-strike tennis likely to give her an edge against the Italian. The Belarusian will be the favourite to come through this clash given her recent results..
Pick: Aryna Sabalenka to win in straight sets.
