It is premature to say that Paula Badosa has recovered her best version But what seems evident is that the Spaniard is making tremendous efforts to be the great tennis player she once was. This is the most important conclusion that can be drawn from his suffered victory tonight at the Italian Open against the American Emma Navarroby 1-6, 6-4 and 6-2, in one hour and 59 minutes.
And the 22-year-old New Yorker is not just any rival. Number 22 in the WTA rankingthis season he has debuted his title box with the Hobart International, on Australian soil, and has defeated rivals of the stature of Sabalenka and Svitolina.
In fact, You have to go back to May 2023, also in the Roman Foro Italico, to see Badosa defeat a world ‘top 25’ -went to the Tunisian Our Jabeur also in the second round. This data is quite relevant considering that the Catalan comes from a very dark period that has taken her beyond number 100 in the ranking.
The most curious thing is that the start of the game did not exactly invite optimism because Badosa lost the first set 6-1 in just over half an hour. Some doubts that carried over into the second set with a new break from Navarro that put a disturbing 2-0 on the scoreboard.
Champion reaction
Perhaps the Badosa of recent times, burdened many times by physical problems, would have let herself go but This time she showed the strength and determination that led her to be a world-class tennis player.achieving two consecutive breaks that turned the second set around (6-4).
Already in the third, and with confidence through the roof, The Spaniard accelerated to close the match with a conclusive 6-2 on the back of a great serve which made Navarro’s reaction attempts useless, as he did not have a single break point in this set.
Badosa will now face the Russian Diana Shnaider in the third round, whom she already defeated last April in her debut in Stuttgart before retiring in tears against her friend Sabalenka in the next duel on German soil.
2024-05-09 21:34:19
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