As Paula Badosa (26) watched Aryna Sabalenka (26) winners whizzing by her from all angles on Thursday, it was game over for the Spaniard in the Australian Open semi-finals as she fell to an inspired opponent producing ‘PlayStation’ tennis.
Eleventh seed Badosa staged a brave run at Melbourne Park, knocking out one of the tournament’s favourites Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals on the way to her first Grand Slam semi.
It came after she nearly quit the sport last season while struggling with a chronic back injury.
Top seed Sabalenka proved to be at another level, though, racking up 32 winners for the match to leave Badosa chasing shadows under the lights at Rod Laver Arena.
“With Aryna, it’s more like winners everywhere,” Badosa told reporters after racking up her sixth defeat in eight matches against the Belarusian.
“Sometimes you’re like, I don’t know, I’m just walking around the court because I feel like she’s playing a PlayStation.
“Today she was like that. So sometimes I’m like, ‘What’s happening?’ I don’t have time even to think.”
Badosa held the upper hand against them for a few giddy moments in the first set. She led 2-0 and was 40-love on serve after the defending champion was broken in a messy start.
But Sabalenka steeled herself and ran away with the match to book her third successive Australian Open final.
The pair are firm friends off court and Sabalenka promised during her on-court interview that she would take Badosa shopping once the Spaniard had processed the defeat.
-“It’s going to be something really expensive because now I think she doubled the prize money,” said Badosa.
“So I think she won’t have a problem for that.”
The pair were seen on camera exchanging banter off court soon after the match and there were no hard feelings from Badosa.
The Spaniard was asked at her post-match press conference what she had said to Sabalenka.
“That it was really unfair for me that she played this level today,” she said with a smile.
“I was expecting, of course, a good level, but maybe not that much.
“She came to me to say that she played three semi-finals before she won a title.
“She was very proud of my improvement lately, especially with all I’ve been through.”
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