It looked like a blow-out was brewing on Monday as Sabalenka stormed out to a 4-0, double-break lead right out of the gates—Paolini got one of the breaks back in the next game, and the two traded holds from there until Sabalenka clinched the first set.
But Paolini had found her groove by then, and she had all kinds of chances in the second set—not only did she jump out to an early 2-0 lead, but after Sabalenka won the next four games in a row for a 4-2 lead, she won three games in a row of her own to go up 5-4.
The Italian even held two set points in the next game with Sabalenka serving at 4-5, but the world No. 1 saved them both, held for 5-all, broke one last time for 6-5 and swiftly served the match out.
“I would say that overall the whole match was a tough match,” Sabalenka said afterwards in her on-court interview. “She’s such a great player, putting so much pressure, moving well, serving great—she’s a great player, and I’m super happy with this win tonight.
“The second set was quite tricky. Honestly, I don’t know, I was just trying to stay aggressive. I was going to fight for this set no matter what, and I’m really happy to close this match in straight sets.”
And aggressive she was—Sabalenka finished the match with more than twice as many winners as Paolini, 27 to 12.
Sabalenka’s victory over the No. 4-ranked Paolini was a milestone win, too: the landmark 40th Top 10 win of her career.
