Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the WTA Cincinnati match.
Barbora Krejcikova is continuing to build form ahead of the US Open, while Jasmine Paolini has already battled past several tricky opponents in Cincinnati. This will be their third official meeting, with the Czech player winning both previous encounters. For the Italian, it’s a chance to take revenge — but it won’t be easy.
Jasmine Paolini
Paolini entered the tournament in the second round and has already spent more than four and a half hours on court. Her win over Maria Sakkari (7:6, 7:6) came through sheer persistence in rallies, saving eight of 11 break points. Against Ashlyn Krueger, she once again opened with a tie-break before dominating the second set (7:6, 6:1). The Italian thrives on hard courts, winning 14 of her 21 matches on the surface this season.
Barbora Krejcikova
Krejcikova has already played three matches here, all going to three sets: wins over Alycia Parks (6:4, 4:6, 6:3), Elina Svitolina (6:2, 4:6, 6:4) and Iva Jovic (3:6, 6:3, 6:2) were hard-fought, each averaging around two hours. Across these outings, the Czech has racked up 26 double faults and won just 39% of points on her second serve. Match sharpness has been an issue — Barbora has played only 12 matches this season, winning eight, and just one of those victories came against a top-15 opponent.
Jasmine Paolini vs Barbora Krejcikova Prediction
Paolini will be fired up for revenge, especially on hard courts, where her stats are outstanding. Krejcikova has had little match practice this season and is far from her best form. The Italian should get the win here.
