Emma Navarro vs Jasmine Paolini Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Cleveland Open

Prediction published on 19/08/2023, 21:15  by Joseph King | Modified on 19/08/2023 at 21:16 in Tennis Predictions

The WTA Tennis in the Land event at Cleveland first round sees American Emma Navarro facing off against Italian Jasmine Paolini. The winner of these two unseeded contestants will advance to a round of 16 matchup against either fourth-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova or Patricia Maria Tig. 22-year-old Emma Navarro is in fine form with 45 wins and only 18 defeats from her 63 matches in 2023. That 71% winning percentage is a significant jump up from her career 61% mark. Navarro boasts two consecutive titles to her name in this calendar year, both coming on home soil and on clay courts. The WTA 53rd-ranked player bested Peyton Stearns to win the W100 Charleston and followed that up only one week later with a win over Ashlyn Krueger to win the W60 Charlottesville. Navarro’s last appearance was a WTA Cincinnati event which saw her make it past two qualifying rounds before suffering a 2-1 first round defeat to 36th-ranked Petra Martic.

Her opponent is 43rd-ranked Jasmine Paolini who will be hoping to pick up where she left off after a strong showing in the Cincinnati Masters tournament. The 27-year-old made it all the way to the quarter-final as an unseeded entry before ultimately falling in straight sets to seventh-ranked Cori Gauff. The highlight of course was knocking off fourth-ranked Elena Rybakina in the round of 16 after the 2022 Wimbledon champion was forced to retire early due to injury. Paolini also has a title to her name in 2023 after winning the WTA Florence event on her preferred clay surface back in May. The Italian has made two other finals since then, both coming on clay courts where she would finish as the runner-up. Paolini has a career 55% winning mark on hard courts compared to 63% on clay.