Originally planned for 19 o'clock Polish meeting of Magda Linette from Jasmine Paolini It was to make the evening more enjoyable in many Polish homes. Thanks to the prolonged earlier matchbut above all due to a longer break caused by rain, but this duel only began four hours later. The fans were preparing for a feast, but it could only be talked about on one side of the court. The Italian did not smile exceptionally during the match, but in this case it was not a bad sign.
The Italian tennis wall was frustrated by Linette
On paper it was a duel of the 34th world tennis player with the seventh. In the fate of 33 -year -old Linette and Paolini, four years younger, there is some analogy – both of them waited quite a long time for a breakthrough. Shelf She recorded him for two years agowhen it reached the Grand Slam semi -final Australian Open. Then she faced health problems and more expectations than before. Since then, he has been quite regularly intertwined with periods of weaker results.
Now he is trying to deal with great expectations, whose life has changed last season. It started with a February triumph in Dubai, and later a player, whose hallmark is almost an unpredictable smile from her face, she added to this, among others Two Grand Slam finals – in Roland Garros and Wimbledon. This is all the more impressive because it successfully combines starts in a single with a doubles. In the latter competition last year she won four tournaments and reached the finals twice. No wonder that at the end of the past season she was playing on fumes.
She used a bit, among others Linette, when they faced the third round in Beijing. The listed tennis player won 6: 4, 6: 0. Remembering that match now, she paid attention to a very good Return – both their own and rivals. She also wanted to put pressure on Paolinin again. Just as she did the round earlier in Miami.
The second in the career of the quarter -finals in the 1000 rank tournament now gave victory over the American Coco Gauff (3. WTA) 6: 4, 6: 4. In this match she did the same as in a duel against the Italian in China – she used the weaker disposition of the favorite and added a bold and aggressive game to it. Thanks to this, the 33-year-old in full-time career defeated the rival from TOP3 of the world list (in 2021 she won with the then leader of Ashleigh Barta, but that match ended with the creature of the Australian in the second party). And for the sixth time in her career she beat a tennis player from the top dozens (her balance in such matches is 6-28). The previous one was Paolini in Beijing.
From that moment, the Polish woman was unable to reach the eight in any tournament until now. But Paolini had similar problems, which previously at this stage was in Wuhan in October and it was her only quarter -finals from Wimbledon. That is why, now after defeating in three sets on Monday, Japanese Naomi Osaka breathed a sigh of relief and threw with a smile: “Finally”.
Both of Linette in Miami gained confidence and both were preparing for a long and difficult fight in the quarter -finals. The training staff of the Polish woman, i.e. coach Mark Gellard and the role of consultant 34, was also prepared for this.
– It is important that – as in the match against Coco – to enter and do your job. Take control as soon as possible – said on Canal+ before Tuesday's Radwańska match. Thanks to the surprisingly good performance, Linette has changed the date of the house ticket several times in recent days.
Unfortunately, the next time it will not be … Because although Linette started by breaking, then only Paolini went like a storm. The Italian at an earlier stage of the tournament saved more strength (she had a “free fate” at the opening, and in the 3rd round she played only seven games before the rival's crew). This difference made itself felt on Tuesday.
It is true that Linette started by breaking, but then four games in a row won the rival. It was the latter who applied pressure and dominated. – She tries to torment – said the commenting match in Canal+ Bartosz Ignacik. And a moment later he compared Paolini to the tennis wall, after the reflection from which the ball still returns to the other side of the court.
At Linette, instead of earlier great movement, there was more late reactions. You can't refuse her efforts, but the problem was that they didn't have much effect. Playing the fifth match in difficult conditions in Miami (high humidity) meant that this time the first Polish service was damaged, and her foreign exchange was lacking in accuracy. The losses from the beginning of the set could not compensate.
The second batch had a similar course. The partnering Ignacik Paul Kania-Chodań pointed out that the 33-year-old from Poznań is so low on her feet (to better position herself to the balls) that she even scrubs his knees on the court. Unfortunately, this also did not help, because the Italian still played almost flawlessly and was unsuccessful. At the 4: 1 state, Linette began to frustrate more strongly, and Paolini did her job. In the end, the Polish woman changed the rocket, but the miraculous return of the action did not provide her. After the last ball football, the Italian focused as much as possible, she could finally smile.
It was the fourth duel of these tennis players. The balance is tie. In the semi -finals, Paolini will face the leader of the WTA ranking Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka or Chinese Qinwen Zheng. In the second couple, Iga Świątek can be found, if Alexandra Eala from the Philippines, the biggest sensation of this year's edition of the Miami tournament, may beat on Wednesday.