No. 3 seed Jasmine Paolini knocked out of China Open by No. 31 seed Magda Linette

No. 31 seed Magda Linette upset No. 3 seed Jasmine Paolini with a 6-4, 6-0 victory in the third round of the China Open on Monday. Linette put the pressure on her high-ranked opponent and cruised to the win with the second set held to love. The last time the two players met Paolini defeated Linette in the second round of the Paris Olympics. Linette now leads their head-to-head 2-1.

Linette put her stamp on the match from the outset. The 32-year-old from Poland pulled ahead 3-0 after the pair battled to deuce in each of the first two games. Despite a strong start, her opponent soon bounced back. Paolini was able to achieve a service break in the fourth game and carried that momentum to win three additional consecutive games. The Italian then seemed to find her rhythm, limiting the unforced errors and double faults that plagued her in the first three games. Desperate for things to fall back in her favor, Linette showed tenacity in an eighth game that went to deuce five times. She won the game and the next two on her way to a 6-4 set win.

The second set saw a similar tug-of-war between the players, but with far different results. Paolini failed to hold her serve in the opening game, having to play from behind again. But this time, there would be no run for Paolini. She found herself on the losing end of deuces in the next three games, looking more and more demoralized with each loss.

As her opponent’s lead reached 4-0, Paolini’s frustration had snowballed into an increasing number of unforced errors. Linette seemed to sense this. She played conservatively and allowed Paolini to make mistakes in long rallies. Paolini missed an easy shot at the net in the fifth game before Linette finished the game a point later. Paolini sat on the bench with a towel over her head before starting the sixth game. Sensing the lopsided momentum, fans in the crowd began pouring to the front row for autographs. The Italian hit the ball into the net three times during the sixth game, helping Linette take the set 6-0.

Paolini’s loss on the Lotus Court came after a near-upset by World No. 72 Clara Tauson in the second round.

For Linette, Monday's match marks her first win against a WTA Top 10 player this year (1-4) and moves her career record against Top 10 players to 5-26. She now moves to the fourth round of the tournament, where she will face either Mirra Andreeva or Donna Vekic. This is the furthest she has advanced in seven appearances at the China Open, four of them in the main draw.

– Reporting by Egan Ward