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World No. 46 Jasmine Paolini produced a big upset on Saturday as she sent No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka packing out of the Indian Wells Masters. Paolini made a bad start to the match but recovered to beat Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 6-3 and progress into the Indian Wells Masters third round for the second time in her career.
Paolini plays Viktorija Golubic for a place in the Indian Wells round-of-16. "I'm really happy," Paolini said in her post-match press conference. "I played an amazing match. I tried to be there, to be focused every point. Yeah, I'm so happy I beat Sabalenka.
She's a great player. "After the first set, I didn't expect to win the match, but I tried just to be there every point, to be just right there every point, to not think about the score. The score was 6-2 for her, I wasn't even close to her.
But then point by point I started to believe it. I started to hit better the ball, deeper in the court."
Marie Bouzkova joins Paolini on the winners' list
Bouzkova, ranked at No. 97 in the world, recovered from a set down to stun Australian Open quarterfinalist Jessica Pegula 5-7 6-2 6-0.
"A really big win and a very special one, too," Bouzkova said. "I've always felt good to play here but got my first win this year, so I'm trying to build on that. After the first set I thought I felt great considering everything, I'm hitting the ball well but obviously Jessie is an amazing, clean hitter.
She has so much power and she made some amazing shots. Even though I lost the first set I told myself to keep going, to keep being aggressive on my end. I found the right balance between attacking and defending some balls. It worked out really well in the end."