Paolini, who has Polish heritage, claimed her second win over Linette in their fourth meeting.
Strong performance despite loss
Despite the defeat, Linette can leave Florida with pride. The 33-year-old from Poznań reached her second career WTA 1000 quarterfinal, following an impressive victory in the previous round over third-ranked Coco Gauff.
Unfortunately, Linette was unable to replicate that performance in her match against Paolini. Due to rain, the match started with a four-hour delay, but Linette initially showed promise by breaking Paolini’s serve in the opening game.
However, Paolini quickly recovered and took control, winning the first set and maintaining dominance in the second.
After 1 hour and 17 minutes, Paolini advanced to the semifinals, where she will face either world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka or Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng.
Linette will rise to at least No. 31 in the upcoming WTA rankings.
On Wednesday, world No. 2 Iga Świątek will compete in her quarterfinal match against 19-year-old Alexandra Eala from the Philippines. The match is expected to start at 6:00 PM Polish time.
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Source: IAR/PAP/PR24/X/@sport_pr24pl/@WTA