Aryna Sabalenka vs Jasmine Paolini Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA China Open

Prediction published on 04/10/2023, 06:49  by Nella Wagah in Tennis Predictions

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka will on Thursday battle the unseeded Jasmine Paolini for a place in the China Open quarterfinals. The winner of this third-round tie will play either fifth seed Elena Rybakina or qualifier Mirra Andreeva next. Aryna Sabalenka defeated Katie Boulter in straight sets in the last round. Despite the 2-0 win, it was her toughest match yet. The tie lasted well over two hours with every set seeing the world number one require seven games to win. Sabalenka has won 32 of the 38 matches she has played on hard courts this season.

Jasmine Paolini has defeated Sabalenka in two of their three meetings to date. She won on hard court the last time they met, which was a year ago at Indian Wells. This should have her confident of causing an upset here and making her sixth quarterfinal of the season. Paolini has been forced to come from a set down in both her rounds in Beijing. She defeated 15th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the first round and then crowd favourite Yuan Yue last time out. The win over Yue allowed the Italian to tie her season record on hard courts at 13-13. Paolini is up six places to 30th in the live ranking.