\n<\/p>\n
The Italian won 4-6 7-5 7-5 and claimed her first WTA 1,000 victory, despite being 5-3 down in the deciding set. <\/p>\n
World number 40, Kalinskaya, of Russia, was serving for the match in the third set but she never reached match point.<\/p>\n
Paolini won 16 of the last 19 points to win the final four games and secure the victory. <\/p>\n
“I’m really surprised,” Paolini said. “I’m really happy. It was a really tough match. She’s playing unbelievably.<\/p>\n
“To come back was really tough. I tried to stay positive every point. I’m really proud of myself.”<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old, the world’s number 26, won her first WTA singles title at the WTA 250 Portoroz in 2021.<\/p>\n
She has been in three finals since in search of her second WTA title but had lost them all until Saturday’s victory against Kalinskaya. <\/p>\n
The Russian qualifier came into the final in fine form, having ended Iga Swiatek’s seven-match winning streak when she beat the world number one in the semi-finals.<\/p>\n
But Kalinskaya, who knocked Paolini out of the Australian Open in January, failed to replicate that form in the final. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n