Near-flawless Paolini eases into next round

World No.4 Jasmine Paolini in action yesterday. Pic/AFP

Jasmine Paolini underlined her Australian Open title credentials with an almost flawless march into the second round on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old Italian inflicted a dreaded ‘bagel' on Chinese qualifier Wei Sijia, who was making her Grand Slam debut, as she sprinted to a 6-0, 6-4 victory.

In 2024, Paolini became the first Italian woman to make the last 16 at all four Grand Slams in the Open Era and won the title in Dubai in a breakthrough season that propelled her into the top five.

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"Maybe everything began from here last year," said Paolini. "It gave me so much confidence. "And it's great to be back here in Melbourne."

Paolini raced out of the blocks with an emphatic first-set, landing 81 percent of her first serves against the hapless World No. 117.

Wei did get on the board by winning the first game of the second set.

However, Paolini kept up the pressure with powerful returns and groundstrokes. She finally broke Wei again to lead 3-2 before serving out for victory in 73 minutes.

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