Hot shot: Paolini foils Niemeier tweener en route to Stuttgart victory
No. 5 seed Jasmine Paolini survived a tough test from talented wild card Jule Niemeier to reach the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix quarterfinals for a second straight year, advancing 6-1, 7-5 after saving one set point in the second set.
Stuttgart: Draws | Scores | Order of play
Niemeier's challenge was encapsulated by a point midway through the second set in which, hustling back to retrieve a Paolini lob, she pulled off a superb tweener. It had both pace and angle, and had Paolini at full stretch at net. The Italian was equal to the task, though, and managed to put away a volley winner to hold for 3-3.
Indeed, Paolini's clutch play in the home stretch of the match was decisive. She had reeled off seven straight games against an error-strewn Niemeier to reach 6-1, 2-0, but had to work hard to hold off the home player's attempted comeback. Niemeier broke Paolini back twice, but mishit a backhand on her set point. Paolini found her best groundstroke winners of the day to come through the last three games in a row.
Paolini advances to her second quarterfinal of 2025, and will face either No. 4 seed Coco Gauff or German lucky loser Ella Seidel next. Watch the ful highlights of her defeat of Niemeier below.
