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Match Details
Fixture: (6) Jasmine Paolini vs Maria Sakkari
Date: April 27, 2025
Tournament: Mutua Madrid Open
Round: Third Round (Round of 32)
Venue: Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain
Surface: Clay
Category: WTA 1000
Prize Money: $8,403,780
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Jasmine Paolini vs Maria Sakkari preview
Sixth seed Jasmine Paolini will face former top 10 player Maria Sakkari in the third round of the Madrid Open 2025.
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After a first-round bye, Paolini was up against Katie Boulter in the second round. The Italian cruised through the first set, dropping only one game en route to claiming the set. She didn't loosen her grip on the proceedings in the second set either, sprinting to a 5-0 lead.
However, Paolini let go of a match point when she served for the contest as Boulter gave herself a brief reprieve with a break of serve. She then got through her own service game to make it 5-2. The sixth seed didn't make the same mistake twice and closed out the match this time for a 6-1, 6-2 win.
Sakkari beat Wang Xinyu 6-4, 7-6 (7) to set up a second-round date against 29th seed Magda Linette. The Greek overcame an early break deficit in the first set to get back on serve. Both players were evenly matched after that, leading to a tie-break.
Sakkari outplayed Linette in it to capture the set. She raised her level even further in the second set, breaking her opponent's serve twice to register a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory.
Jasmine Paolini vs Maria Sakkari head-to-head
The two have split their prior two meetings to tie the head-to-head at 1-1. Paolini won their most recent encounter at the Dubai Tennis Championships 2024 in straight sets.
Jasmine Paolini vs Maria Sakkari odds
(Odds will be added once they're available)
Jasmine Paolini vs Maria Sakkari prediction
Sakkari recently teamed up with her former coach Tom Hill once again and the decision seems to have paid off. She has now won back-to-back matches for the first time this year. Both of her wins in Madrid were quite solid and she overcame some tense moments to get over the finish line.
Aside from a slight hiccup while serving for the match, Paolini was at her dominant best in the previous round against Boulter. She has been in great form in recent weeks, reaching the semifinals in Stuttgart last week and in Miami prior to that. She lost to World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on both occasions.
Both have a win over the other, with each of their respective wins coming during their breakthrough runs. Paolini beat Sakkari en route to her first WTA 1000 in Dubai last year, while the Greek came out on top on her way to the semifinals of the French Open 2021.
Sakkari has lost all six of her matches against top 10 players this year in straight sets. While she has stepped up her game this week and could challenge Paolini, the latter will still be expected to come through this match based on their results this year.
Pick: Jasmine Paolini to win in three sets.
