Rome, May 12 (LaPresse) – Jasmine Paolini continues her run at the Internazionali d’Italia. The Italian, currently ranked No. 5 in the world, has reached the quarterfinals for the first time in her career at the Foro Italico by defeating Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko (WTA No. 18) in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2, in one hour and 42 minutes. Ostapenko started strong, hitting some great shots but making too many errors (30 compared to Paolini’s 10), and gave up the first set after initially controlling the match and breaking serve in the fifth game. The set seemed lost for Paolini when she trailed 2-4, 15-40 on her second serve. Even at 5-5, Ostapenko squandered two break points with poor returns on second serves. In the second set, Paolini broke in the second game and held her lead, then broke again on her first match point in the eighth game to seal her spot in the quarters. She will now face Russia’s Diana Shnaider.