Winning the number one in the world is not an easy task and doing it twice in a month seemed very difficult. Paula Badosa, who had won in Charleston last April, tried to achieve the double this Thursday, but she found a great version of the Australian, especially from a tactical point of view. The leader of the ranking took revenge with a master class in serve, changes of rhythm and variations in the game that ended with the brave resistance of the Spanish, who closed her magnificent performance at the Mutua Madrid Open with an honorable defeat by 6- 4 and 6-3 in 75 minutes.
Barty seems imbued with a wisdom on and off the court for which she has become the most stable benchmark in world women’s tennis. He has been permanently installed on the throne since September 9, 2019. When I survived the pandemic, he decided to withdraw and not leave his country, so he did not participate in any tournament, not even in the Grand Slams, for almost a year. She has now accumulated 16 victories on the European gravel tour since she was champion at Roland Garros two years ago, with her recent title in Stuttgart and the four victories she has obtained so far in the Spanish capital. In the final, which will be played on Saturday at 18:30, she will face Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka or Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Badosa leaves the tournament, which granted her an invitation that she has not regretted, with the satisfaction of having been the first Spanish to reach the semifinals and 20 places higher in the world rankings, in which she will occupy from Monday the 42nd. Also with the certainty that he can compete against the best because he has the weapons to do so and with the hope that he is one step away from doing something great if he continues firm in his principles and in his progression. And with the pride of having been made known to the public in Madrid.
Against Barty, a rival who does not have a fixed pattern of play and against whom it is very difficult, therefore, to find solutions if he has a good day, he did everything he could. His good serve failed him in two crucial moments: the last game of the second set and the fourth of the second, with double faults that facilitated Barty’s breaks. The New York-born Catalan tried to regain the disadvantage at 4-1 but missed three break balls and with them the possibility of a comeback. He leaves with his head held high and with much more confidence for what is to come: Rome (although it may be erased), Roland Garros and perhaps another tournament in between.
“Of course I’m kind of sad, you never want to lose”
“Of course I’m kind of sad, you never want to lose”She said at a press conference after falling to the number one in the world.
Badosa, who stated that “Perhaps the smartest thing to do is delete yourself from the Rome preview”, because he would play on Saturday and before he would have to go through the covid prevention measures that the trip implies, he admitted that he has “badly to lose.” “It makes me sad, and more at home. Everything was so beautiful, that when it ends that part of sadness or melancholy enters”, he indicated.
“But Barty is technically very good, it makes you very uncomfortable and if you are not one hundred percent it becomes very difficult. Perhaps I have not been so comfortable and that is his merit, “he added. Badosa said that he will be happy to enter the top 50 in the world, “but the goal is to keep improving.” “I had been working very well and I knew this would happen, whether it was now or on grass or on a hard court. My goal is to continue in this line. I don’t know if it will be seen at Roland Garros or not, but the job is done “, he assured. —EFE
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