Jasmine Paolini is focused on qualifying for the WTA Finals after the Italian edged past Clara Tauson 1-6 7-5 6-4 in Beijing.
The Italian has had an incredible breakthrough season on the tour having reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
On top of that Paolini won the doubles at Roland Garros as well as winning the gold medal in Paris alongside Sara Errani.
However the world number five is not content on stopping there as she came through a tight match against Clara Tauson to begin her Beijing campaign.
This is an important week for Paolini with the Italian sitting fourth in the race to Riyadh as she would love to confirm her spot at the WTA Finals this week.
Speaking to WTA Insider, Paolini has said that she is ready to ‘push the accelerator’ on her bid to reach the WTA Finals, “We are trying to keep focused, to be in the present. It’s tough because it’s the end of the season. I’ve played many matches, but it’s good that I’ve played many matches actually,” Paolini said to the WTA website.
“We are trying to keep practicing well, to keep being motivated. There is a big goal I had: We have to qualify for the WTA Finals. So we have to push on the accelerator. I played a really good season so it would be great to be part of the WTA Finals for the first time. It’s a real exclusive club. If I am able to play there it’s going to be really exciting and fun.”
The China Open is Paolini’s 17th tournament of the season as she aims to continue her winning feeling from the rest of the season.
Ahead of the end of the season Paolini admitted her body is ready to crash after a ‘tight’ schedule but there is no time to rest for the world number five, “The calendar is really tight. For the pre-season we don’t have many weeks, it’s really short. I think we are getting used to not getting many weeks for practice,” Paolini said.
“We have to manage everything well. But we are at the end of the season. I played many matches but I’m trying not to think about whether I’m tired or not. We just have to keep going. Of course, I think winning helps because when you have many matches then when you are in a bad moment you know better how to come back. When you don’t have many wins, it’s tough to do that.
“So it’s a combination of things, but I think winning is the best thing. I did not play well all the matches, but maybe because I was more confident than in the past years, I managed to take the match.
“I’m trying to think that I can crash today or tomorrow, it’s normal and it can happen. To be consistent, you have to reduce the downs as much as possible and I think that is the most important thing and the thing I improved most. The ups are coming if you are always there, but you have to manage to not go too much down.”
Paolini will hope to continue her surge towards the WTA Finals when she takes on Magda Linette in the third round on Monday.
