US Open 2022: Iga Swiatek vs Jasmine Paolini preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Iga Swiatek vs Jasmine Paolini
Date: August 30, 2022.
Tournament: US Open 2022.
Round: First round (Round of 128).
Venue: New York, United States.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $60,102,000.
Match timing: 11 am local time, 3 pm GMT, 5 pm CET, 8.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - ESPN & ESPN2 | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Sony Liv, Sony Ten & Sony Six.
Iga Swiatek vs Jasmine Paolini preview
Top seed Iga Swiatek will begin her 2022 US Open campaign against World No. 57 Jasmine Paolini on Tuesday.
The Pole had a spectacular first half of the season, winning six titles in a row, including her second Grand Slam crown at the French Open. Her incredible 37-match winning streak finally came to an end at the hands of French veteran Alize Cornet in the third round of Wimbledon.
Since then, however, the World No. 1 has struggled to replicate those highs. Her next tournament at home in Warsaw saw her exit in the quarterfinals.
We played for Ukraine, again! After our charity event in Poland where we raised more than 500 000 Euro, another exibition took place, this time in New York City. It was a pleasure to share a court with you, @RafaelNadal, @CocoGauff & Mr McEnroe! Tennis plays for Ukraine.
ππ We played for Ukraine, again! After our charity event in Poland where we raised more than 500 000 Euro, another exibition took place, this time in New York City. It was a pleasure to share a court with you, @RafaelNadal, @CocoGauff & Mr McEnroe! Tennis plays for Ukraine. https://t.co/aPSyJrzxkt
Swiatek hasn't had a memorable run so far in the US Open Series either, falling in the Round of 16 in both Toronto and Cincinnati.
The 21-year-old will be keen to rediscover her magic touch at Flushing Meadows, where her best performance remains a fourth-round finish last year.
Swiatek's opponent, 26-year-old Paolini, meanwhile, has been making her presence felt on the tour for the last couple of seasons. She won her first title at Portoroz last year, which helped her make her top-100 debut.
She ended the season with a run to the third round at Indian Wells from the qualifying rounds apart from a semifinal appearance at Courmayeur and a quarterfinal finish at Linz. Paolini also made the quarterfinals in Lyon in February this year before upsetting Aryna Sabalenka at Indian Wells for her maiden top-10 scalp on her way to the third round.
Riding on those results, she peaked at No. 44 in the rankings. However, she hasn't been able to produce the same consistency since then.
It was only in the post-Wimbledon clay swing that Paolini's game came alive once again. The World No. 57 reached the semifinals at both Palermo and Warsaw.
Paolini failed to continue the momentum on the North American hardcourts, falling in the first round of qualifying in Cincinnati. At Granby this week, the Italian won a round before losing in three sets to Rebecca Marino.
Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek will start her tournament facing Jasmine Paolini at the #USOpen https://t.co/6UzVY5Q5ER
Iga Swiatek vs Jasmine Paolini head-to-head
Swiatek has a 1-0 lead over Paolini in their head-to-head, having beaten the Italian 6-2, 6-1 in Prague in 2018.
Iga Swiatek vs Jasmine Paolini odds
(All odds sourced from Oddschecker)
Iga Swiatek vs Jasmine Paolini prediction
Paolini has solid counterpunching skills and incredible footspeed, which makes her a difficult opponent to deal with on clay. However, on the fast US hardcourts, she will find it tough to play her natural game.
Besides her vast experience, Swiatek's shot accuracy, superb anticipation skills and terrific footwork will give her the edge in this clash.
The only area of concern for the Pole, however, is her second serve. She coughed up as many as nine double faults during her three-set loss to Beatriz Haddad Maia in the Round of 16 at Toronto. If her serving woes resurface, Paolini will get the confidence to stretch the top seed.
Pick: Swiatek to win in straight sets.