Paolini in the final in Dubai

It is a treatise on tennis with which Jasmine Paolini obtains her fifth WTA final, her first in a 1000, beating Sorana Cirstea in Dubai, in a match dominated in the first set and very difficult in the second. Another perfect performance from the Tuscan, who is now number 16 in the world and surpasses a multiple champion like Petra Kvitova in the ranking. Rested after the match not played due to Rybakina’s retirement, Jasmine took advantage of her athletic freshness, serving perfectly and returning even better, taking home the match 6-2 7-6 (6) in just under two hours of play.

the match

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Jasmine serves very well, also working the second serve and finding angles that put Cirstea in difficulty, always holding her breath during her serves. The first break comes in the fourth game, in which the veteran tries to defend herself but she is surprised by Paolini, who is especially good with her backhand. Always solid until the end of the set, Paolini also breaks in the eighth game, thanks to two winning returns that give her the first set in 40 minutes. The music doesn’t change in the second set either, with Jasmine finding the break (the last shot is a bit lucky) in the fourth game: it seems like the decisive extension, but Cirstea breaks serve for the first time and tries to reopen the competition. It’s (at least apparently) a flash in the pan, because Jasmine charges up with her “let’s go”, passes with the forehand, attacks with courage, takes advantage of a bad mistake from Cirstea and goes up 4-2. The road is downhill to reach the final (Saturday from 3pm, live on Sky Sport), but Jasmine still complicates her life, coming back from 40-15 down and reopening the match.

epilogue

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At 5-4 (after two games of apparent serenity for those serving) Cirstea serves to prolong the match and a hard-fought game emerges: Jasmine gets a match point by defending great and taking advantage of Cirstea’s sensational error who sends the backhand on the tape with a wide open court, but the Romanian cancels brilliantly and takes the score to 5-5. The match becomes crazy, with breaks and counterbreaks (Cirstea wastes 5 set points, the fourth after a monstrous forehand back from Paolini), which brings the second set to a tie-break. It is played point by point, in a phase in which the serve becomes penalizing: 8 consecutive points in response, before the 6-5 Cirstea, which brings the Romanian back to set point, but Jasmine finds a splendid cross, for the 6-6. It’s the point that sends Sorana into a tailspin, who hands the game over to Paolini: Jasmine is the fourth Italian to reach a 1000m final. And her smile is worth a thousand words.

the post match

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“I’m definitely excited and happy, it was a great match, with a bit of drama at the end. But it went well.” Thus Jasmine Paolini in the post match, after the victory over Cirstea. “I found myself ahead a set, 4-2 and 40-15, but I started making a few too many mistakes. She started forcing the plays more and I got nervous, I tried to start moving my legs again and then it went well. What does the final here in Dubai mean? A lot, it’s something big for me.”