Poland’s Magda Linette booked her place in the fourth round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing on Monday, defeating third-seed Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-0.
Linette, who is ranked 43rd on the WTA list, put on a powerful performance to overcome the Italian player, who has been the revelation of the women’s game this season, reaching the final of the French Open and Wimbledon.
The Pole started Monday's match by breaking Paolini’s serve in the first game. She later defended a break point on her own serve, and when she broke the Italian again, she was already leading 3-0.
The 32-year-old then fell into a lull, which Paolini used to make up for the losses and equalize 3-3. But despite managing to hold her serve in the next game, Linette won the next three games in a row to close the first set 6-4.
The second set was not short of long rallies and games, but Linette consistently had the edge, with Paolini failing to win a single game despite having two break points.
In reaching the last 16, Linette has equaled her best showing in Beijing, which she managed a year ago.
The Pole will next face the winner of the clash between Russian Mirra Andreeva and Croatian Donna Vekić.
It has been an impressive week for the Polish contingent, after Magdalena Fręch also made it to the last 16 after beating 12th seed Diana Shnaider in the third round on Sunday. Fręch will now face Chinese player Shuai Zhang.
With last year's winner of the WTA 1000, Iga Świątek, not competing in this year’s tournament, in her absence, world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka has a good chance of closing the gap between the two in the WTA rankings.
The Belarusian will face the American Madison Keys (No. 18) in the fourth round. If Sabalenka wins in Beijing, she will be only 284 points behind Świątek.
The Pole started Monday's match by breaking Paolini’s serve in the first game. She later defended a break point on her own serve, and when she broke the Italian again, she was already leading 3-0.
The 32-year-old then fell into a lull, which Paolini used to make up for the losses and equalize 3-3. But despite managing to hold her serve in the next game, Linette won the next three games in a row to close the first set 6-4.
The second set was not short of long rallies and games, but Linette consistently had the edge, with Paolini failing to win a single game despite having two break points.
In reaching the last 16, Linette has equaled her best showing in Beijing, which she managed a year ago.
The Pole will next face the winner of the clash between Russian Mirra Andreeva and Croatian Donna Vekić.
It has been an impressive week for the Polish contingent, after Magdalena Fręch also made it to the last 16 after beating 12th seed Diana Shnaider in the third round on Sunday. Fręch will now face Chinese player Shuai Zhang.
With last year's winner of the WTA 1000, Iga Świątek, not competing in this year’s tournament, in her absence, world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka has a good chance of closing the gap between the two in the WTA rankings.
The Belarusian will face the American Madison Keys (No. 18) in the fourth round. If Sabalenka wins in Beijing, she will be only 284 points behind Świątek.
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