In the early hours of this Monday Paula Badosa will experience one of the most important games of her life. He had never reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open (something he had achieved in the US Open y and Roland Garros) and will do so by facing one of the strongest teams in the tournament, Coco Gauff.
Badosa on Gauff: “For the first time she is going to have the pressure”
The North American is number 3 in the world, in a table that they lead Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, but being the winner of the 2024 WTA finals last November gave her more than enough arguments to dream of world number 1. At the start of the year he still doesn't know what it's like to lose a game. What's more, She has not known defeat since last November, when she lost an inconsequential match in the WTA finals to Krejcikova in which she was already qualified.. Eleven consecutive victories until reaching the quarterfinals in Australia.
To Paula Badosa 2024 has been the year in which he left his injuries behind and returned to the path of victory by signing the Best WTA Comeback 2024. In this Australian Open she is determined not to return to the version that did not work for her. “I'm going to make it more practical and less emotional,” he confessed in the microphones of one of the press conferences for this Open, and his promise has materialized on the courts.
The Catalan tennis player, who lost for the last time in Adelaide against Krueger on January 8, has made a start to Grand Slam brilliant: in the first round against the Chinese Xing, in the second against Gibson with a record including winning in 48 minutes, knowing how to suffer against Kustyk and mentally very strong against Olga Danilovic, her last rival. “I have managed to be very consistent,” acknowledged the Catalan.
Badosa Gauff
Tonight, yes, it will be a tough duel. Historically they have faced each other on six occasions, the balance being 3 to 3 victories for each one, no matter what happens tonight, that balance will fall on the side of one of the two. The last one, in the semifinals of Beijing In October, Badosa began by winning the first set, but finally gave in to the 3rd in the world who came back to reach the final.
-The same script that occurred in the Masters 1000 of Romelast spring, when Paula Badosa took the first round in the tie break and Gauff ended up coming back in the round of 16 on the Italian center court.
To relive a victory for the Catalan against Coco, you have to go back to the 2023 Mutua Madrid Open. That day the court factor was decisive, and with a 6-3 and 6-0 Paula snatched the ticket to the quarterfinals in an impeccable way. At that time Gauff was number 6 in the world.
The battles between the two are very metal. Badosa has already warned of this, who acknowledged having suffered a lot after the defeat in Beijing. “The last defeat against her hurt me a lot, but this year with maturity and experience I feel better than ever. For the first time she will have the pressure” he admitted to Eurosport. We will see it this morning, not before 1:30 a.m. a Eurosport.
The match scene
The Rod Laver Arena where Badosa has not yet debuted in this edition of the Australian Open. “From other years that I have played there, I think it is a little slower than Margaret Court,” commented Paula. Yes he has played there already Coco Gauffin their last match, against a combative Belinda Bencic who returned to Australia after motherhood. He made Gauff work, three hours and three sets to be able to be in the quarterfinals.
Without a doubt, one of the best matches that can be seen in this Australian Open. The tennis player I won will have the world number 1, Aryna Sabalenka, on her side of the draw. Nobody said it was easy.
