Paolini powers into Miami semi-finals
Paolini, beaten in the finals at Wimbledon and the French Open last year, becomes the first Italian to make it to the last four in Miami.
It took just 77 minutes for Paolini to take care of business against Linette who had progressed into the quarters with a surprise win over Coco Gauff.
A lengthy delay to the start of the game, caused by heavy rain in the afternoon, didn't cause any issues for the sixth-seeded Paolini who dominated from the off.
Paolini, who is looking for her second title at the WTA 1000 level, after last year's triumph in Dubai, looked confident and said she had known her form would start to bring her results.
"I think I didn't play bad this season but I just didn't have a great result. But I was there. I lost many matches but to big opponents," she said.
"It was tough but I was repeating to myself that I was there - maybe I just needed a little more confidence and it came here maybe," she said.
Paolini will face the winner of Tuesday's other quarter-final between top seed Aryna Sabalenka and China's Zheng Qinwen.