“I hope Muguruza returns soon, Spanish tennis needs her”

MADRID, 25 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa, the main asset of the ‘Armada’ in the women’s draw of the Mutua Madrid Open, believes that this year she will arrive at the tournament “in different conditions” until 2022, when there were “very high expectations” about her, while who confessed that she hopes Garbiñe Muguruza “will return soon” to the circuit because she considers that “Spanish tennis needs her” and for her she is “an example to follow”.

“It is clear that last year I arrived in different conditions and I also think that Iga (Swiatek) was erased at the time and I became the number one favorite at that time in the tournament, and I also had a very, very hard”, said Badosa during the ‘Media Day’ of the tournament.

The Catalan ended up losing in her second match after reaching the semifinals in 2021, although she did it against the Romanian Simona Halep, “a player who has played many more years and has won here several times.” “Yes, last year I think the expectations were high and I also had a very difficult draw,” she reiterated.

Now, at a better time of the game, it is unknown if Madrid will once again be a turning point in the season like two years ago. “Hopefully. I’ve been working very well, I’m here with a lot of desire, with great enthusiasm and hopefully it’s here because obviously I like to do very well at home,” he wished.

Badosa has changed his technical team and has placed his trust in the British Joel Cannel. “It’s starting a bit from scratch, looking for fresh air and that also to me, because of my personality, I also like it. I have heard many times that I have many coach changes, but I see it a little differently,” he said.

“I think that each coach has his things to learn and the more you have, he also gives you different opinions. I always keep everything positive,” added the Spanish, who has found a person who “contributes” and “empathizes” with her on the track. “They are people with whom I have had a relationship for a long time, with whom I have been in constant contact and I know that they know me a lot in terms of tennis and know how I have to play, my style of play, they know me mentally,” she explained.

The Catalan, who has just touched the semifinals in Stuttgart (Germany), celebrates being “playing better” at this point in the campaign. “Lately I think the same thing is happening to me a bit with the players who are doing very well, who are the best in the world. I’m having a lot of options and they’re not just falling on my side, I also think it’s a bit of a dynamic times. They come with a lot of confidence and at that moment I am doubting a bit”, he explained.

“In the end, we’re talking about the three best in the world and so it’s difficult at those times, but I see that the level is up, that I’m fine, that I’m playing well and most importantly that I’m looking forward to it,” stressed the Catalan.

THINKING ABOUT GETTING FAR IN MADRID IS NOT “RIGHT NOW THE RIGHT THING”

This does not sign any results in this Mutua Madrid Open because it is “very competitive”. “I would love to win, be in the ‘semis’ or in the final rounds, but I don’t think it’s right now what I have to look for or the right thing to do. I think what I have to do is what I’m doing these weeks, do a style of play, mentally recovering the best version of myself, but also enjoying it because it is a week that is relevant. I want to feel good on the court because I have been feeling very good these last few weeks and hopefully these games that have not finished falling from my side, fall here. What is in my hand is very good”, declared.

The Spaniard has not looked “so far” in her box and has only focused on her debut. “Hopefully I can play with all these players who in the end are the best in the world and they are the games that I like to play and more at home, that I will have the public on my side,” he said, acknowledging that it is “totally different “to go from the ‘indoor’ land of Stuttgart to the altitude of Madrid in the open air. “Monday was my first day here and today Tuesday my second, and I’m feeling pretty good,” she admitted.

Finally, Paula Badosa was asked about Garbiñe Muguruza, who has temporarily left the circuit to take a breather. “Honestly, I don’t know one hundred percent what he’s going through, but I can imagine it and empathize a lot with it. Mental health is a very important issue for me and I think this sport is very tough mentally and people don’t is aware of how difficult it is,” he warned.

“I feel very bad every time I see that she is delaying her return because in the end she has been an example for me to follow. I think she has had an admirable career and that she is a tennis player who has made history in our country. I have written to worry me and see if she’s okay because we have a good relationship. And I really hope she comes back soon because I think Spanish tennis needs her,” Badosa said.

The Spanish tennis player, currently number 42 in the world and who starts in this tournament as the twenty-sixth favourite, will debut at the Caja Mágica against the Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto who won this Tuesday in two sets 6-3, 7-5 against the Czech Barbora Strycova.