MIAMI — The Miami Open witnessed the exit of two former Grand Slam champions, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka, in the Round of 16.
This sets up a quarterfinal match between No. 6 seed Jasmine Paolini and Magda Linette on Tuesday.
Linette defeated No. 3 seed Gauff with a score of 6-4, 6-4. This victory marks Linette`s highest-ranked win against an opponent at a Hologic WTA Tour event.
Gauff expressed her disappointment after the match, stating, “It wasn’t great today. It hasn’t been the last few weeks — I’m trying to figure that out. Definitely not happy about it. … Just one of those days when I felt awful in everything on the court.”
Earlier, Paolini rallied to defeat Osaka 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. This win breaks Paolini`s streak of losses in WTA Tour Round-of-16 matches this year.
Key Takeaways:
Paolini Regains Momentum: Jasmine Paolini, known for her consistent performance in the 2024 season, faced a more challenging sequel. However, she is now back on track, securing her first quarterfinal of 2025.
This tournament marks the first time this year that Paolini has achieved three consecutive wins. She has improved her record against former No. 1 ranked players to 3-8, with previous wins against Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova in 2024. This was also her first victory against a former Grand Slam champion in her last five attempts.
“Finally,” Paolini said, expressing her happiness about reaching her first quarterfinal of 2025. “I’m really happy about it and it gives me confidence as well. It was a good-quality match. I think her level today was really high.”
Paolini demonstrated resilience by saving 12 of 15 break points and converting three of five.
Linette`s Ascent: Magda Linette, at 33 years old, achieved a significant victory on Monday, marking her first Top 10 win since defeating Paolini in Beijing last year. She entered the match with a 5-28 record in such encounters.
Linette capitalized on Gauff`s 12 double faults, breaking her serve four times and maintaining her own serve effectively, only being broken twice.
Linette mentioned that watching Gauff`s matches frequently provided her with an advantage, allowing her to observe any weaknesses. “Everybody shows her matches, so you kind of see when she has a little bit weaker days,” Linette said.
“I think it was really important for me to keep pressing Coco’s serve to make sure she feels the pressure,” Linette added. “I’m glad that I was returning well. I was really brave. Then I was able to back it up with pretty solid service games.”
Linette`s achievement places her as the second-oldest player since 2009 to secure a first WTA 1000 win over a Top 5 opponent. She also becomes the third-oldest woman this century to reach the Miami Open quarterfinals for the first time.
This Miami Open quarterfinal is Linette’s second career WTA 1000 quarterfinal, with her first being at Wuhan last year, where she lost to Gauff.
Paolini vs. Linette Preview: Magda Linette holds a 2-1 lead in head-to-head matches against Jasmine Paolini. Their upcoming quarterfinal promises to be an exciting contest.
“Beijing, I wasn’t playing that good,” Paolini commented on her previous match with Linette. “She’s a very consistent player. Forehand, backhand, serve — she is complete. I have to be aggressive, make less mistakes and move as good as I did today.”
Linette also reflected on their Beijing match, stating, “Last time we both returned so well, so I think I’m really aware of that,”
`I`ll try to also make [Paolini] feel the pressure,` Linette continued. `I know that the court is a little bit quicker, so I`ll need to adjust to that. I hope I can bring the level I had today of steadiness, competitiveness, and really quite a lot of discipline.”
