Shades of an injury are long in the past. Rybakina has been businesslike from the start here and won’t mind playing aggressor in this match-up against Paolini. The Italian obviously deserves to be in the quarterfinals but there is a certain power disparity that the world #4 will be able to take advantage of.
Not many will give Paolini a chance in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. But I think a major shock is possible here. Rybakina sometimes struggles the most on clay against players who are consistent and have great athleticism, such as when she needed to save two match points to beat Yulia Putintseva in Madrid. Paolini is one of the fattest players in the women’s game, but the Italian can also inject major pace with her excellent forehand. Protecting her less formidable serve against Rybakina’s power is likely to be her biggest issue. However, if Paolini keeps her first-serve percentage high, she might just pull off a shock.
