MIAMI (UNITED STATES) (ITALPRESS) – She had to wait for the rain to stop but when she entered the court she did so with extreme determination. Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian player able to hit the semifinals of the “Miami Open,” the fourth Wta 1000 of the season equipped with a prize money of $8,963,700 that is being played on the concrete courts of the Hard Rock Stadium facility in Florida. The 29-year-old from Bagni di Lucca, No. 7 in the rankings and No. 6 in the seedings, cleared Poland’s Magda Linette, No. 34 Wta, who had surprisingly eliminated U.S. Coco Gauff in the round of 16 and had not lost a set in the entire tournament, 6-3 6-2 in just over an hour and a quarter of play. The Tuscan tennis player will be the first Italian player in history to play a semifinal in Florida: before her, Reggi (1989), Farina Elia (1998), Garbin (2007), Errani (2013), Vinci (2013) and Trevisan (2023) had all stopped in the quarters.
“I am very happy for this victory: the last time I had faced her, in Beijing, I had lost badly – Jasmine’s words – She plays very well and pushes a lot: I am very satisfied with how I managed the match.” The Tuscan will now find on her way the world number one Aryna Sabalenka, who got rid of China’s Qinwen Zheng 6-2 7-5: sixth confrontation and sixth victory for the Belarusian, also ahead 3-2 in the balance of direct confrontations with the Italian. The 26-year-old from Minsk has also won the last two challenges, the most recent in the round robin of the Wta Finals last November.
Avanza anche Berrettini, fuori Musetti
Matteo Berrettini returns as a “Hammer” and hits the quarterfinals at the second Masters 1000 of the season, with a total prize pool of $11,255,535. The 28-year-old Roman – for the fourth time among the top 8 in a 1000 after Shanghai 2019, Rome 2020 and Madrid 2021 – subverts the odds and beats Alex De Minaur, world number 11 and 10th seed, 6-3 7-6(7). For Berrettini it is the first victory over a Top 20 player in a Masters 1000 or Slam just since his last win over De Minaur at Wimbledon 2023. “This win means so much to me,” he exults, “It means having worked well on and off the court, and being happy with what you’re doing. If I’m not happy, I can’t get the results I want. I’m very proud of me, my team, my family. That’s good, but I aim to go even further.” On his way he will find Taylor Fritz, third strength on the scoreboard, who ended the run of lucky loser Adam Walton 6-3 7-5. The U.S. is Berrettini’s black beast, who has always emerged defeated from his four confrontations, the last one last year at the Us Open.
Nothing to do instead for Lorenzo Musetti, who had to deal with a deluxe Novak Djokovic: the Serb played one of his best matches in this 2025 and liquidated the Carrara player with a double 6-2. After the initial 0-2 in the first set, Nole brought home 12 of the next 14 games while Musetti collected only 14 points in the response turns. Djokovic, a six-time champion in Miami, thus continues his hunt for his 100th career Atp title: next obstacle Sebastian Korda, who got the better of Gael Monfils 6-4 2-6 6-4.
– IPA Agency photo –
(ITALPRESS).
