MIAMI -- There were two former Grand Slam champions still lurking in the second quarter of the draw at the Miami Open -- Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka. But on Monday, they were both sent packing.
Thus, No. 6 seed Jasmine Paolini and unseeded Magda Linette will face off in a Tuesday quarterfinal.
Miami: Draws | Scores | Order of play
Linette took down No. 3 seed Gauff 6-4, 6-4. In completed matches, World No. 3 Gauff is the highest-ranked opponent Linette has defeated at a Hologic WTA Tour event.
“It wasn’t great today,” Gauff said afterward. “It hasn’t been the last few weeks -- I’m trying to figure that out. Definitely not happy about it. ... Just one of those days when I felt awful in everything on the court.”
Earlier, Paolini was a determined 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 comeback winner over Osaka. That ended Paolini's 0-for-3 run in WTA Tour Round-of-16 matches this year.
Here are three takeaways:
Paolini back on course: In her breakthrough 2024 season, Paolini’s calling card was unnerving consistency. She won six straight matches on the red clay at Roland Garros, then turned around and won six more on the lush lawns of Wimbledon. And while she lost in both finals, Paolini was a revelation, zooming into the Top 10 for the first time at the age of 28.
The sequel, as Paolini might have imagined, has been more difficult. It’s a “new story,” she has said -- and her success means she’s lost the element of surprise.
This is the first time this year Paolini has put together three consecutive victories. And she improved her record to 3-8 against players who have held the WTA’s No. 1 ranking, with the other victories both coming in 2024, against Angelique Kerber (United Cup) and Karolina Pliskova (US Open). It was also Paolini's first win against a former Grand Slam champion in her past five attempts.
And she did not want to go 0-for-4 in WTA 1000 Round-of-16 matches this year.
“Finally,” Paolini said, laughing, as she claimed a spot in her first quarterfinal of 2025. “I’m really happy about it and it gives me confidence as well. It was a good-quality match. I think her level today was really high.”
The Italian wound up saving a remarkable 12 of 15 break points, while converting three of five.
Linette on the rise: The 33-year-old from Poland put together one of her best-ever wins on Monday. This was her first Top 10 win since she defeated Paolini last year in Beijing. She came in with a 5-28 record in those matches.
Linette broke Gauff (who had 12 double faults) four times and took care of her own serve, only getting broken twice.
Linette said one advantage she had was seeing so many of Gauff’s matches, because she’s usually playing on one of the big courts. “Everybody shows her matches, so you kind of see when she has a little bit weaker days,” Linette said.
“I think it was really important for me to keep pressing Coco’s serve to make sure she feels the pressure," Linette added. "I’m glad that I was returning well. I was really brave. Then I was able to back it up with pretty solid service games.”
Since 2009, Linette is the second-oldest player to claim a first WTA 1000 win over a Top 5 opponent, after Hsieh Su-wei six years ago in Dubai. Linette is also the third-oldest woman this century to reach the Miami Open quarterfinals for the first time, after Mirjana Lucic (2017) and Hsieh Su-Wei (2019).
Here in Miami, Linette reached her second career WTA 1000 quarterfinal. Her first came at Wuhan last year, where she – ironically -- eventually lost to Gauff.
Paolini vs. Linette tomorrow: Linette leads Paolini 2-1 in their head-to-head. Paolini won in the Round of 32 at last year’s Paris Olympics, while Linette took their later match at the same stage in Beijing.
“Beijing, I wasn’t playing that good,” Paolini said of her last match with Linette. “She’s a very consistent player. Forehand, backhand, serve -- she is complete. I have to be aggressive, make less mistakes and move as good as I did today.”
Linette also looked back on that Beijing battle: “Last time we both returned so well, so I think I’m really aware of that,” the Polish player said.
"I'll try to also make [Paolini] feel the pressure," Linette continued. "I know that the court is a little bit quicker, so I'll need to adjust to that. I hope I can bring the level I had today of steadiness, competitiveness, and really quite a lot of discipline.”
