MADRID, 23 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa was eliminated this Saturday in the second round of the Miami (Florida) tournament, the second WTA 1,000 of the season, after her 6-4, 6-3 defeat against the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, dressed in mourning for the recent death of her boyfriend.
Badosa, a personal friend of Sabalenka, also dressed in all black on the Grandstand court at Hard Rock Stadium. When she started the match, the Spaniard saved two breaking balls during the fifth game, but did not prevent her opponent from taking advantage of the next one in the seventh (4-3).
Sabalenka consolidated her advantage and, although she was immediately able to break another rival serve, the Catalan got out of the jam by saving two new break options. However, the Belarusian did not hesitate any longer and she closed the first set with her serve after 45 minutes of play.
At the beginning of the second set, Badosa’s tranquility did not last long, as in the third game he gave up his serve again and soon found himself down 3-1. There was only a hint of concern for Sabalenka in the eighth game, but his opponent did not make it 30-40 and then conceded another break, now final, before both merged with a hug at the net.