Elena Rybakina at the 2023 Australian Open.
Italy’s Jasmine Paolini will take on hot favourite Elena Rybakina in the second round of the Italian Open
Local favourite Paolini registered an impressive 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 victory in the first round against China’s Wang Xinyu. She hasn’t had a great year and has been lacking consistency throughout the season.
Her standout performance this year has been the Quarter-final appearance at the Lyon Open in February. It will be an uphill task for her at the Italian Open and it remains to be seen if she can put up a spirited performance on her home turf.
Elena Rybakina is one of the most in-form players on the WTA tour at the moment. She has made the finals of two tournaments so far this year – the Australian Open and the Miami Open besides winning the Indian Wells Masters. However, there has been a dip in her form of late. She is coming into this tournament following two consecutive early exits from the Stuttgart Open and the Madrid Open.
Rybakina is seeded No.7 at this tournament and received a ‘Bye’ in the first round due to her superior ranking. She will be looking to brush off her recent losses as temporary ones and dominate the field in Italy. She is one of the favourites to win the title and it remains to be seen if she can live up to the high expectations.
Date – Thursday, 11th May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – To be Announced
Location – Foro Italico
Match details – Round of 64 match
Paolini and Rybakina have never played each other before on the WTA tour. This is the first professional head to head clash between the two players. On paper, Rybakina is the favourite both in terms of form and rankings. However, one can certainly not rule out Paolini and the Italian is expected to put up a tough fight on home turf. Despite that, we are predicting a comfortable win for Rybakina in straight sets.
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