Slovenia 2021: Sorana Cirstea vs Jasmine Paolini preview, head-to-head & prediction | Zavarovalnica Sava Portoroz

Match details

Fixture: (4) Sorana Cirstea vs Jasmine Paolini

Date: 17 September 2021

Tournament: Slovenia Open 2021

Round: Quarterfinal

Venue: Portoroz, Slovenia

Category: WTA 250

Surface: Outdoor hardcourt

Prize money: $235,238

Match timing: Approx. 2 pm local time, 11 am GMT, 7 am EST, 4.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Sorana Cirstea vs Jasmine Paolini preview

The quarterfinals of the 2021 Slovenia Open will see a clash of contrasting playing styles, as Sorana Cirstea and Jasmine Paolini lock horns on Friday.

Cirstea, who is in the midst of a career renaissance of sorts, scored a solid 7-5, 6-2 win over Tereza Martincova in her last match. The Romanian had lost to her opponent just a month earlier, but turned in a steadier performance to book her place in her fourth quarterfinal of the season.

Jasmine Paolini

Paolini, on her part, has also enjoyed a considerable amount of success in 2021. The Italian scored her first title at the WTA 125K event in Bol, before registering her first main-draw win at a hardcourt Major in Flushing Meadows.

Paolini has been clinical in her matches - against Dayana Yastremska and Anna Kalinskaya - here in Portoroz this week. She will be fancying her chances of scoring an upset win on Friday.

Sorana Cirstea vs Jasmine Paolini head-to-head

This is set to be the first career meeting between Sorana Cirstea and Jasmine Paolini, so therir current head-to-head stands at a 0-0 deadlock.

Sorana Cirstea vs Jasmine Paolini prediction

Sorana Cirstea will look to take control of the baseline using her powerful groundstrokes.

Sorana Cirstea's power-packed game has worked well in the two matches that she has played here this week. The Romanian brushed aside the challenge from Heather Watson in her opener before producing a gritty win over Martincova.

Cirstea's serve in particular has proven to be a weapon; she won an incredible 93% of her first-serve points against Watson. And while that number dropped to around 70% in the last match, she was able to find a big serve on most important points.

Against a dogged opponent in the form of Jasmine Paolini, the Romanian would be hoping to score a few more cheap points.

The Italian's solid counterpunching skills and quick foot speed have troubled even the best players on tour lately. Paolini enjoys playing in long-drawn-out rallies, and often wins points by extracting errors from her opponent.

The match will pit Cirstea's power against Paolini's retreiving skills. The former squandered as many as 14 of 16 break points against Martincova, and will no doubt be looking to improve her conversion rates. But if she can maintain the pressure from the baseline with her clean hitting, she should be able to walk away with a win in the end.

Prediction: Sorana Cirstea to win in two tight sets.