“If I look at it coldly, it’s a very good tournament, I didn’t expect to get to the second week. But I’m very competitive and losing like that, that I haven’t been able to play my game, that I haven’t played even 50 percent of what I did this week, makes me leave with a bad taste in my mouth and fucked up. This is how the Girona tennis player lamented yesterday Paula Badosa, disappointed by her elimination in the round of 16 from Roland Garros, which she considers the best tournament of her career, but regretting the defeat and the way in which it took place against the German Laura Siegemund by 7-5 and 6- 2, who will now play the quarterfinals against Petra Kvitova.
Despite the defeat, Badosa, aged 22 and 87 from around the world, has just made it to Paris the best tournament of his career, as so far he had only won one Grand Slam match in five appearances. The Begur tennis player has made a leap forward in quality and results and on her way has surpassed two of the winners of the 2017 Grand Slam, the American Sloane Stephens, of the US Open, and the Latvian Jalena Ostapenko , by Roland Garros.
Badosa played a great level in Paris and insisted that he has found himself mentally recovered, after difficult years in which he bordered on depression and thought of quitting tennis by not meeting the expectations that had been created about she. Winner of junior Roland Garros in 2015, precocity was not an award for Badosa, unable to take off in the rankings. Recently, the Girona tennis player changed coach and, as she confessed, her life was “chaotic” due to an “environment that was not good”. “When you’re happy off the court it’s easier to perform inside,” said the Girona woman after achieving her historic eighth-place finish.
In this round he met yesterday a veteran player, who at the age of 32 will play the first quarterfinals of his career. Number 66 in the ranking, Laura Siegemund did not start well and in the first set Badosa got to have a breaking ball in all games and to have a service in favor to close the sleeve, with 5-3. He wasted it and this gave wings to his rival. Siegemund won the first set and went 2-0 up in the second, an advantage that was a slab for Paula Badosa, who was barely gaining her services until 3-2. Earlier, with back problems, he called for medical attention, but was able to continue.
Nevertheless, its game continued being erratic, in front of the German, who was growing. He had up to four break points in the fifth game, which in the end saved Badosa to go 3-2. But he no longer won. Siegmund closed his sleeve to compete against Kvitova, No. 7 seed, who beat China’s Shuai Zhang, 6-2, 6-4 in 1 hour and 25 minutes.
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