Jasmine Paolini has defeated Jule Niemeier for the second tournament in a row. This time it ended 7-5, 7-5 for the Italian, who advances into the semifinals at Transylvania Open. A few weeks ago, Paolini had ousted Niemeier on clay, in the first round at Parma.
Paolini thus reaches her third WTA semifinal this season – but her first on a hard court – after a tough match, in which she ran a lot, hung on to every ball, and did a great job with her counterpunching game.
In set one, Niemeier came back from 2-4 and saved a set point at 5-4. The second set was very balanced, with the first and only break at 5-6, when the German served to stay in the match – unsuccessfully.
“Jule is a tough opponent, she serves hard and hits every ball very hard. Qualifying for the semifinals means a lot to me. I had a complicated injury, I went through a difficult time and it wasn’t easy at all to come back. I’m happy about this result – a semifinal on hard indoor means a lot to me. I like the place, I like the tournament, I’ve been here before for the BJK Cup, and I like it a lot the organizing. I feel really good here, the crowd has been great – thank you for the support!”, Jasmine said at the post-match interview.
For her first WTA final this season, Paolini has to move past the winner between Parrizas-Dias and Xiyu Wang.
Jasmine from the logo!
Jasmine Paolini is through to the last 4 in Cluj, with a tough 7-5, 7-5 win vs Jule Niemeier. Great week for the Italian, who also beat Kostyuk and Yastremska in previous rounds.#TO2022 pic.twitter.com/l8S0zJUMZW
— Transylvania Open (@TransylvaniaOpn) October 14, 2022
