Can the Italian make a roaring return to form?
Two seeded will battle it out for a spot in the pre-quarterfinals, when two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini locks horns with young American Ashlyn Krueger at the 2025 Cincinnati Open on Tuesday. It will be the first meeting in the head-to-head between these two players. The winner of this match is set to face either Krejcikova or Jovic in the Round of 16. Let’s take a look at the match preview, and what BetMGM has to say about the odds for this clash.
After a phenomenal year at the majors in 2024, Jasmine Paolini has failed to live up to the expectations this year. She will enter the US Open on the back of reaching the second, third and fourth round at the three other Grand Slams. With a 29-13 overall record, the 29-year-old Italian has one title this year – in Rome. Apart from this, she reached the semifinal stage in Miami, Stuttgart and Bad Homburg. World No. 9 Paolini earned a hard-fought win over Sakkari in the Round of 64 here in Cincinnati.
Up and running in Cincy 🏃♀️@jasminepaolini defeats Sakkari 7-6(2), 7-6(5). #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/T6Pgewpceb
— wta (@WTA) August 10, 2025
Having reached the Round of 32 at Flushing Meadows last year, Ashlyn Krueger will be desperate to go further in the draw in 2025. At the age of 21, Krueger has already cracked into the Top-30 and won a singles title. She started her season with a pair of quarterfinals in Brisbane and Adelaide, before making a Middle Eastern summit clash in Abu Dhabi. The 26th seed took out the in-form Sevastova in three sets to book her spot in the match vs Paolini on Tuesday.
Welcome to the Third Round of the US Open, Ashlyn Krueger 👏 pic.twitter.com/9yMWsEHcY4
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2024
| Jasmine Paolini | Category | Ashlyn Krueger |
| 0 | Grand Slams | 0 |
| 3 | WTA Singles Titles | 1 |
| 9 | WTA Doubles Titles | 1 |
| 2 | WTA-1000 Titles | 0 |
| R3 (Paris 2024) | Olympics Best Performance | – |
| No. 9 | Current World Ranking | No. 35 |
Despite the heat and high bounce, courts in Cincinnati have been playing slow this year – which plays into the hands of Paolini. The Italian knows how to grind her way to victory. While both players do not have the best serve on tour, the length of rallies is likely to get extended on Tuesday. There will be a lot of cross-court duels, which the Italian is generally adept at handling due to her superior experience and accuracy.
Prediction: Jasmine Paolini in straight sets.
Paolini is the slight favourite in this Round of 32 match-up against underdog Krueger. Despite the youngster receiving home support, the pre-match money line suggests over 65% chance of the Italian advancing in two or three sets. Here are all the odds you need to know about ahead of the Cincinnati Open third round (as per BetMGM):
(According to BetMGM: BetMGM offers exclusive promo codes, bonus deals and accurate odds for users upon signing up. Use BetMGM to ace your betting game in all sports!)
(Image Credits: Albert Cesare, Imagn Images)
A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.
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