{"id":60512,"date":"2025-08-11T17:29:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T17:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/60512\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T17:29:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T17:29:15","slug":"jasmine-paolini-apologises-to-maria-sakkari-for-what-she-was-thinking-on-match-point-i-have-to-be-honest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/60512\/","title":{"rendered":"Jasmine Paolini apologises to Maria Sakkari for what she was thinking on match point, \u2018I have to be honest\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jasmine Paolini is into the second round at the Cincinnati Open, having battled through a really tough opener against Maria Sakkari.<\/p>\n

In what was arguably the toughest first-round match she could have hoped for, the Greek powerhouse twice took her to a tiebreak, yet failed to win either one as the Italian claimed both sets.<\/p>\n

A straight-sets defeat marks an unfair reflection on the loser\u2019s performance, who once again proved that she can battle with the very best when given the chance.<\/p>\n

However, for Sakkari, it marks yet another early exit, which has been a disappointing staple of her 2025.<\/p>\n

There are many reasons for her steady decline over recent years, with mental fragility likely chief among them. This particular issue was perfectly exemplified on match point.<\/p>\n

Jasmine Paolini admits she was praying for Maria Sakkari to double fault<\/p>\n

Speaking after her Cincinnati Open<\/a> opener, Paolini has actually revealed exactly what was going through her head as Sakkari served to stay in the second-set tiebreak.<\/p>\n

Down a match point, having come back from 6-0 down to just 6-5 down, the momentum was fully with her.<\/p>\n

However, as her first serve failed to make it into the service box, the subsequent outcome felt inevitable. She double-faulted and handed Paolini the match.<\/p>\n

Chatting with Tennis Channel, the 29-year-old admitted she was willing Sakkari to double fault, apologising: \u201cYes! I\u2019m sorry for her, but yes. I was thinking, after she missed the first, I was like, please make the double fault. I have to be honest!<\/p>\n

Yes, because it was a really tough tiebreak. I was 6-0 with the volley over the net, and I missed it, and at 6-5 I was praying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about how it felt to see her commanding tiebreak lead slowly slip away, the Italian then admitted: \u201cI was trying to make the right choices, but I have to say she played well at this point. I was like, Come on Jasmine, you won six points in a row, she won five in a row. It\u2019s normal.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, at the same time, I was like, please make a double fault! [laughs] I\u2019m sorry, guys but it\u2019s like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s nice to see last year\u2019s French Open and Wimbledon finalist finally back in winning ways, after Paolini set an unwanted record with her shock defeat in Montreal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jasmine Paolini is still looking for a coach<\/p>\n

It might seem strange given the smiley, bubbly personality she promotes, but for Paolini, there has been great turmoil going on behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

After all, it has now been many months since she split with her long-time coach Renzo Furlan, seeking new experience that she has yet to find.<\/p>\n

In the same interview where she apologised to Sakkari, Paolini also issued her conditions for a new coach, claiming: \u201cThings happen, sometimes you feel it\u2019s the right time for a change, to move some pieces around. <\/p>\n

\"JasminePhoto by Dylan Buell\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Renzo (Furlan), I had an extraordinarily long-lasting relationship, seven magnificent years with him, but at that point, I was looking for something different. Now, let\u2019s say the same thing has happened again, I\u2019ve made a change. <\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, the goal is to find the right person, someone who brings me calmness; luckily, the Italian Tennis Federation is supporting me a lot with someone I know well from seeing her train there since she was a kid. So far, we have a good rapport. We\u2019ll see what the future holds, who my next coach will be.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jasmine Paolini is into the second round at the Cincinnati Open, having battled through a really tough opener…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60513,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,41765,49081,18935,85,747],"class_list":{"0":"post-60512","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cincinnati-open","11":"tag-jasmine-paolini","12":"tag-maria-sakkari","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}