Bianca Andreescu and Jasmine Paolini's meeting in the first round of the 2024 US Open is about as spectacular as it can be with a Grand Slam champion and two-time Grand Slam runner-up.
Tennis is quite a fun sport because of how its history has been shaped. A couple of years ago, in 2019, Andreescu won the US Open by beating Serena Williams in the final. She was one of the biggest talents on the WTA Tour, but fast-forward to now, and the Canadian has fewer Grand Slam finals than Paolini.
Finals are not counted as meaningful statistics, so the popularly called 'Bibi' likely prefers her fate of having one win as opposed to only two finals, but her career certainly didn't go the way she expected it to go.
Her inability to find her best tennis was mostly impacted by her long list of injuries, which is the worst thing for a player. Even the greatest, like Novak Djokovic, have proven that they need a few matches to get into the swing of things.
Andreescu never had it, especially not with a few mental health breaks in there, which probably saved her career long term but didn't contribute short term. Now, she's been back for a while and has played decent tennis at times.
Unfortunately, she hasn't been hugely impressive, which has been the case for a very long time. On the other hand, Paolini has been very impressive for many months now, reaching back-to-back Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals. She's a Top 10 player now and is playing like one, so she's firmly the favorite in this match.
Head-to-head:
The two have played twice so far, and both times, the Italian won. Both matches were played this year at Grand Slams, and in both, Andreescu provided solid resistance to Paolini.
The first one at Roland Garros went to the Italian with a score of 6-1, 3-6, 6-0. The second meeting at Wimbledon was a 7-6(4), 6-1 victory. Quite a few things can be extrapolated from these matches and scores.
For one, Andreescu has the level to counter Paolini, but it's not always there. It's due to her inconsistency issue she's had for years now, and it will be a problem against the consistent Paolini.
The Italian can win the match not because she has a monster forehand, backhand, or even a deadly serve. She wins because she's feisty. She fights for every point and doesn't give many away easily.
That's a problem for Andreescu, who struggles a lot against that profile. She's good enough when she plays her best tennis, but that's maybe 30% of her matches. The other 70% of the match is her struggling, and that's why she lost both times to Paolini.
| Bianca Andreescu | Jasmine Paolini | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | H2H | 2 |
| 169 | Rank | 5 |
| 24 | Age | 28 |
| 8-6 | 2024 W/L | 31-14 |
| 197-97 | Career W/L | 376-264 |
Prediction:
It's also why Andreescu will most likely lose this match as well. She's just not consistent enough against a player that has been hugely consistent for months now.
Prediction: Jasmine Paolini to win in three sets.
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