MADRID, 13 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa lost in the round of 16 of the Rome tournament, in the WTA 1000 category and on clay, against the American Coco Gauff, world number three, who had to come back from a set to win 5-7, 6 -4 and 6-1 after two hours and 26 minutes of play.
The Catalan leaves the tournament after a good performance, and the fight shown in the first two sets of the match, in which she left some touches of her best tennis, against a player who had a hard time finding her rhythm with many double faults and other improper errors.
The match started with a lot of equality in the exchanges and Badosa constantly looking for her rival’s forehand, causing a multitude of errors and obtaining break opportunities. In the seventh game, the current world number 126, she took advantage of her option and broke her opponent’s serve.
With 4-5 and service to win the first round, the nerves took their toll on the Spaniard, and she gave up the break she had achieved. Although she was able to recover, she and then she broke the American’s serve again, not to forgive in the next game, closing the first set 5-7.
The second set was marked by the irregularity and lack of consistency of both, who were not able to add more than two games in a row. The 2023 US Open champion committed six double faults in this round, but the Spaniard was not able to take advantage of it either despite her drive and determination.
This is how it came to 4-4, after Badosa equaled the North American’s 4-2, with the feeling that she could hurt the rest and win the game. However, Gauff remained calm and made the score 5-4, and it was the Catalan who felt the pressure and ended up giving up her serve blank for the final 6-4.
In the final third set, the former world number 2 could only take the first game by breaking the serve of the current number three, in what seemed confirmation that she would fight until the end. But nothing could be further from the truth, the lack of competitive rhythm and physical discomfort diminished Badosa who could not resist the high level reached by her rival, who chained six consecutive games to close the pass to the quarterfinals.
In the next round, Gauff will face China’s Qinwen Zheng, world number seven and coached by Spaniard Pere Riba, who defeated Japan’s Naomi Osaka, four-time ‘Grand Slam’ champion.
2024-05-13 15:34:47
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