Paolini: "I should smile a bit more, a lot of people point it out to me"

Jasmine Paolini will advance to the round of 16 at Indian Wells. After dropping to 6th place due to failing to defend her points from last season following her triumph in Dubai, the Italian, who suffered a foot injury against Kenin, recovered quickly to participate in the Sunshine Double.

Exempt from the first round, Paolini defeated young Iva Jovic (7-6, 1-6, 6-3) before prevailing against Jaqueline Cristian (6-4, 3-6, 6-4) in a hard-fought match.

The 29-year-old player will face Liudmila Samsonova for a spot in the quarterfinals in California. However, Paolini appeared at the press conference dissatisfied with her performance despite the victory.

"I made too many mistakes, just like in the previous match. But I'm happy I managed to pull through. It's important to win these kinds of matches, even under these conditions.

But if I make all these mistakes, there's not much fun to talk about. During the match, there were a lot of ups and downs, and I absolutely need to try to minimize them as much as possible.

I hope I can achieve that and take another step forward, otherwise it will get complicated. I don't feel particularly different, but as many people point out to me, I should smile a bit more.

The win is a relief, I want to stay positive and tell myself that despite my 63 unforced errors, I still managed to win. In the end, it's not so bad," the Italian assured during the press conference.