Iga Swiatek vs Jasmine Paolini Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Swiatek to extend dominant record over Paolini in Cincy final

After not making a final for 12 months, Swiatek has advanced to the title match in three of her last four tournaments and will now be looking to add a first Cincinnati title to the Wimbledon crown she collected last month. The World No. 3 has been supremely dominant in Cincinnati, advancing to the final without dropping a set, erasing the memories of the last two years when she was eliminated in the semis. Meanwhile, Paolini has enjoyed a brilliant resurgence in Cincinnati, progressing to her second WTA 1000 final of the season after winning her home tournament in Rome. The Italian is a perfect 2-0 in 1000-level finals. However, that's likely to change on Monday.

Swiatek has absolutely dominated this matchup, winning all five previous meetings and taking 10 of the 11 sets played. In six of those 10 set wins, the score has been 6-3 or better. Paolini simply doesn't have the weapons to consistently trouble Swiatek, who can simply play within herself, wait for the short ball and use her superior firepower to finish the point. I don't expect this to be a close contest, so backing Swiatek at the -4.5 line.

As mentioned, Swiatek leads 5-0, winning their most-recent clash 6-1 6-3 in the Bad Homburg semi-finals in June before going on to win Wimbledon.

Swiatek has compiled a 49-12 record on the season and is back playing some of her best tennis as she looks to get back towards the top of the rankings.

The Pole really struggled during a 12-month period from winning Roland Garros last year to just before Wimbledon, failing to make a single final and repeatedly suffering exits in the quarters and semis.

However, that's all changed over the last couple of months, with Swiatek reaching the Bad Homburg final before surging to the Wimbledon title, delivering a double bagel to Amanda Anisimova in the final.

Swiatek hit a slight roadblock in Montreal when she was eliminated by Clara Tauson in the quarter-finals, but she's proven that was just a minor blip with her run to the Cincinnati final.

After easing past Anastasia Potapova, Sorana Cirstea and Anna Kalinskaya in straight sets, Swiatek was pushed by Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals, with the third seed forced to recover from 3-5 down in the opening set before winning 10 of the last 13 games to complete a 7-5 6-3 triumph.

Paolini has registered a 27-8 record on the season and has done a great job of maintaining a current ranking of No. 5 after failing to defend her runner-up points from Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year.

Most of that was due to Paolini's brilliant run to the Italian Open title in Rome, where she clinched her second WTA 1000 title with a win over Coco Gauff in the final.

The Italian suffered fourth round and second round exits at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, along with losing her opening match in Montreal, casting a big doubt over her ability to do damage for the rest of the summer.

However, Paolini has recaptured her best tennis in Cincinnati, defeating Maria Sakkari, Ashlyn Krueger and Barbora Krejcikova in straight sets before edging Gauff and Veronika Kudermetova in three.