Paula Badosa savoured a strong serving day as she overcame Anett Kontaveit in a tricky Adelaide International 2 opener ahead of the Australian Open.
Badosa and Kontaveit both got as high as number two in the world rankings last year, but neither currently sits in the top 10, with Badosa down at number 11 and Kontaveit 17th.
Tuesday's tussle in South Australia went the way of the Spaniard, with Badosa scoring a 6-4 6-3 win against her Estonian opponent.
She had five aces and only one double fault, winning 77 per cent of points when landing a first serve in.
Another Estonian awaits her at the last-16 stage in veteran campaigner Kaia Kanepi and Badosa is happy with how she had begun the tournament.
"I think I started really good," Badosa said in an on-court interview. "I was serving very well. I was going for the first shots."
Asked about signs of improvement with her serve, Badosa said: "It depends on the day, to be honest. I worked a lot this past 10 days and was really focused on that, so I'm happy about that."
Czech Barbora Krejcikova, another player with a career-high ranking of number two, earned a second-round shot at Russian Daria Kasatkina after winning 6-2 7-6 (7-3) against last year's runner-up Alison Riske-Amritraj.
Other winners in Adelaide on Tuesday were Amanda Anisimova, Zheng Qinwen, Veronika Kudermetova, Anna Kalinskaya and Katerina Siniakova.
At the Hobart International, second seed Elise Mertens fell 6-4 6-4 to fellow Belgian Maryna Zanevska, while French third seed Alize Cornet was also knocked out, losing 6-4 6-2 to Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin had no such trouble, seeing off China's Zhu Lin 6-2 6-2
Paolini 'never dreamed' of first French Open final
Jasmine Paolini says she started to "dream step by step" before making it to her maiden grand slam final at Roland Garros.
The Italian saw off Mirra Andreeva in straight sets on Thursday to book a showdown against world number one Iga Swiatek as she aims to win her first major title.
Paolini has already pulled off one major upset at the tournament, knocking out Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals over three sets in impressive fashion.
No matter what happens in the final, Paolini is already assured of breaking into the top 10 in the WTA rankings on Monday and will be ranked, at minimum, number seven at the end of the tournament.
Asked if this was a moment that she imagined when she was young in training, Paolini admitted that was not the case.
"I was watching grand slam finals. I was watching the other Italians make it in the finals, and also won grand slams, but imagining that can be myself was tough," she said.
"Of course, I wished, but now it's something crazy for me. I'm really happy. Also surprised.
"I never dreamed to be number one, grand slam champion. Never dreamed so big. Never.
"Never maybe dream to be in the top 10, but I was hoping, but not really believing it. I think step by step I started to believe, but to dream for closer things.
"I think it's important to dream, but I started to dream, I think, step by step. Not too far away."
Swiatek is chasing a third consecutive French Open title and is a heavy favourite to win it going into the final.
Paolini was full of praise for the Pole but said she would not be intimidated by her opponent.
"Iga is an unbelievable player. So young, but so many achievements and grand slams. Here she won three times," she added. "She's doing well week by week, and that's not easy. So I have huge respect for her.
"My goal is to step on the court on Saturday and try to enjoy the match and to enjoy that moment and to try to play a good match and to make a good performance on the court."
Swiatek highlights Osaka win as turning point with fourth French Open title within touching distance
Iga Swiatek believes her victory over Naomi Osaka helped her adjust to Roland-Garros as she reached the final of the French Open following victory over Coco Gauff.
The world number one saved a match point against Osaka in the second round of the competition, pulling off a comeback to triumph 7-6 (7-1) 1-6 7-5 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Swiatek saved a match point against the former world number one, and from 5-2 down in the deciding set, it was the Pole who prevailed.
Since then, the 23-year-old has lost just 14 games across the next four rounds and is one match away from becoming the first woman to win the tournament in three straight years since Justine Henin in 2007.
And she credited that win over Osaka as the turning point in her latest French Open campaign.
"Something changed [after the Osaka match]," Swiatek said after beating Andreeva.
"I adjusted better to the court, and it’s not easy to play first matches in a grand slam because the atmosphere is much different in other tournaments.
"Against Naomi, I didn’t have time to get into it. She was intense from the beginning and put pressure on me. I'm happy that I handled it well. The weather changed also; it helped my game and I gained confidence."
Reflecting on a dominant 6-2 6-4 defeat of reigning US Open champion Gauff, Swiatek said: "It was intense.
"In the second set, it was tight because we were breaking each other. But I'm happy that I was consistent with my tactics, didn't overthink stuff, and just went for it at the end."
Swiatek and Gauff have now faced off 12 times, but the American has won just one of those matches.
"I think [Gauff] is progressing a lot," Swiatek added.
"You can see by her results. Last year’s US Open showed that she's tough. At this age, it's obvious that she's going to grow. It's nice to see her handling everything around her well because it’s not easy.
"I'm sure we're going to have more really intense matches at the highest level because Coco is also one of the most consistent players out there."
Swiatek will face Jasmine Paolini in Saturday's final.
Paolini sets up Swiatek meeting in maiden grand slam final
Jasmine Paolini has reached her first grand slam final after defeating Mirra Andreeva in straight sets on Thursday.
Andreeva stunned world number two Aryna Sabalenka to reach her maiden grand slam semi-final on Wednesday, but an error-strewn performance saw her defeated 6-3, 6-1.
Paolini, who caused an upset of her own by knocking out Elena Rybakina in the quarter-final, was determined and got the first break early on before saving three break points in the fifth game.
Though Andreeva tried to mount a comeback, Paolini was too strong, holding out to win the first set, before getting another early break in the second.
The 17-year-old's frustration started to show, and she had few answers to Paolini's dominance as the Italian held out for an impressive victory.
Paolini will now face Iga Swiatek in the final on Saturday as she aims to cause another upset and claim her maiden grand slam title.
Data Debrief: Late bloomer Paolini looks unstoppable
Paolini is just the third player in the last decade to reach her first grand slam final at Roland Garros after turning 28, along with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2021) and Lucie Safarova (2015).
She also becomes the first Italian to reach the final of a grand slam event since Roberta Vinci at the US Open in 2015, and the first in the final of the French Open since Sara Errani in 2012.
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