By the numbers: Paolini overcomes nerves to advance to first Cincinnati final

It didn’t come easy, but Jasmine Paolini reached the Cincinnati Open final for the first time in her career Sunday, defeating Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3 in the semifinals.

Cincinnati: Draws | Scores | Order of play

It is Paolini's second WTA 1000 final of the season and the third of her career. She has won the previous two.

The victory came on a day in which Paolini appeared in control for much of the match, serving for a spot in the final at 6-3, 5-4 in the second set. She hadn't faced any significant pressure on serve up to that point, and had needed just two break points, both of which she converted, to move within a game of victory.

Then things began to unravel for the Italian.

Down 15-40 in the ensuing service game, she saved two break points but dropped the third to let Kudermetova back in the second set, which the Russian went on to win in a tiebreak.

“Until that moment everything was fine,” Paolini said after the match. “I was okay, I was focused, a bit relaxed. And then I was really nervous. I said to myself after losing the tiebreak that I had to step back and move forward, you know, be in the present and not think about what happened.

“That was the key – to forget, to fight and be in the present.”

The strategy worked, as Paolini broke early in the third set and held on from there to secure the win.

Here are some notable stats:

0: The number of break points faced by Paolini on Sunday prior to serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set. She faced six from that point on, saving five of them, while converting all three of her own break chances.

1: After dropping her previous two meetings against Kudermetova, Sunday marked Paolini’s first win in the head-to-head between her and her Russian counterpart.

Speaking of firsts, Paolini is the first Italian woman in the Open era to reach the singles final in Cincinnati.

12: After exchanging holds until 3-3 in the first set, Paolini won 12 of the last 13 points to win the set 6-3.

20: Paolini is the fourth player this season with 20 or more wins at WTA 1000 events, joining Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva and Iga Swiatek.

100: Prior to Sunday, it had been four years since Paolini last faced Kudermetova, when the two faced off in Cincinnati in 2021. A consistent presence inside the WTA Top 10 over the past year, Paolini was ranked No. 100 in the world the last time the two played one another.

Paolini will face No. 3 seed Iga Swiatek in Monday’s final in what will be their fifth career meeting. Swiatek leads the head-to-head 4-0, including a 6-1, 6-3 win in the Bad Homburg semifinals in June.

The two also met in the 2024 French Open final.

“It’s been really tough against her,” Paolini said. “She’s an amazing player and it’s always tough to play her. She defends really well, and her serving is good too, so it’s going to be tough, but I’ll try to do my best in the final. I like the conditions here, so that’s fine, and hopefully it’s going to be a good match.”