​In a field of 13 filled mainly with Romanian fans who came to cheer on Sorana Kirstia, Jasmine Paolini (54 WTA) was the athlete to beat, the Italian making the difference with the variety of her performances.

>> Sorana Kirstea was knocked out in the first round of Roland Garros by the lower-ranked player

Sorana Kirstea, knocked out in the second round of Roland Garros by Jasmine Paolini (1.62 meters)

It was hot in Paris on Tuesday, and hot ground favors players who achieve topspin (we already know the famous case of Rafa Nadal, the 14-time Roland Garros champion).

Elf Jasmine Paolini (she is only 1.62 meters) knew how to take advantage of this important advantage, and little by little she moved the game into her comfort zone.

She hit the climbing ball, knew how to absorb the power of Sorana’s shots, and constantly tried to force our player to hit more and more shots outside of her comfort zone.

Unfortunately, in the absence of access to the backup plan, Sorana lost the first set, although she had the initiative in several moments, but the lack of variation led to an easier work of the peninsula (7-5). It was a stage decided in “overtime”, and Jasmin was becoming a kind of favorite in the qualification.

Sorana (seeded under 30) finally changes the plan: hits just as hard, but happens at times when the ups seemed endless with short ones.

These breaks in rhythm upset Paolini, an athlete who felt a huge effort from the defense (she ran a lot to make up for the lack of strength).

The return match undoubtedly went to Sorani (6-2), and the match on court 13 was to lead to a decisive set.

Unfortunately, the sensations of the first set returned: Sorana tried to attack almost every ball, hit harder and evenly, and mistakes multiplied.

Jasmin very calmly waited for mistakes and intensified the attack only when she had a clear advantage in the draws.

After seeing Sorana play, I was reminded of a famous commercial from a famous car tire manufacturer many years ago: “Power is nothing without control.”

This is what happened in the decisive set of the match: the power of Sorana’s blows did not have the expected effect due to the miss. Paolini won (7-5, 2-6, 6-2) the match, which lasted two hours and 13 minutes.

Know:

• Romania has only one representative in women’s singles from Roland Garros 2023: Irina Bega.

• The future opponent of the Italian woman: Olga Danilovich (WTA, 105th place, 22 years old, Serbia, qualified athlete).