The quarter-final round of the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships will see an intriguing Jasmine Paolini vs Elena Rybakina clash. The SportsRush predicts Rybakina to win in three sets and continue her campaign.
The Kazakh star has been in great touch since her early Australian Open exit. She won the Abu Dhabi Open and finished as runner-up in the Qatar Open. In Dubai, however, she has looked a bit patchy but still playing great. Victoria Azarenka retired midway through their second-round match with the score at one set each. Similarly, Magdalena Frech also managed to take a set off her in the third round, but the latter fired 13 aces to prevail.
Paolini, meanwhile, has also displayed great tennis after suffering two first-round exits following the Australian Open. She bounced back from a set down to beat #11 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the first round, following up with a win over Leylah Fernandez. The Italian toppled #8 seed Maria Sakkari in the third round.
The Jasmine Paolini vs Elena Rybakina head-to-head stands tied 1-1, both matches coming last year. However, it was only the latter’s mid-match retirement at the Cincinnati Open last year that gave Paolini the win. The World No.26 was convincingly defeated in their first meeting.
Rybakina may have dropped a couple of unexpected sets but she remains in white-hot form. She is one of the biggest hitters on the WTA Tour. While Paolini is playing some of her best tennis, the World No.4 will likely prove to be a step too far. As per BetMGM, Rybakina is a heavy favourite with odds of 1.19 to Paolini’s 4.60. The winner will face either Sorana Cirstea or Marketa Vondrousova in the semifinals.
The 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships quarter-final is scheduled for Thursday, February 22, not before 3:15 pm local time (6:15 am ET). The weather in Dubai will be sunny with temperatures around 24°C. Live streaming will be available on WTA TV. Fans in the USA can also watch on Tennis Channel.
