On March 28, Beijing time, the semifinals of the WTA1000 Miami station began, the world's No. 1 Sabalenka faced the No. 6 seed Paulini of the event, both of them played very well in this tournament, Sabalenka won 6-2, 6-2 in straight sets at the end of the game, and advanced to the finals of this station, waiting for the winner of Pegula and the 19-year-old Philippine genius.
Sabalenka has been in solid form this season, reaching the final of the Australian Open, although it was not easy to win. Last week, she also reached the final of the Indian Wells tournament, where she lost to 18-year-old prodigy Mila Andreeva, who was aiming for the title. Her serve and forehand were as strong as ever, and she showed that in her battle with Paulini, she took two straight sets to walk away with the victory. Sabalenka did not lose a set in this tournament and advanced to the final.
Sixth seed Paulini was also in excellent form, beating Schramkova 6-4 in the second round after a first-round bye, waiting for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to retire in the third round, and in the fourth round she fought Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals 6-3, 6-2. Although Paulini has a good forehand ability and running ability, her serve was strongly attacked by Sabalenka, and Paulini also lost a lot of self-errors, and made consecutive mistakes in the forehand confrontation with Sabalenka, Sabalenka's forehand has a super impact, which is a big challenge for Paulini. With just four games in two sets, it was clear that the match was in Sabalenka's rhythm, and despite not winning, she was also very good in Miami.