MADRID, 30 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa beat Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(8) on Friday to reach the round of 16 of the US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year, which is being played on hard court in Flushing Meadows (New York).
Once again at Louis Armstrong Stadium, Badosa took the win after two hours and 32 minutes of play. The start was a back-and-forth of breaks and Ruse came out better, 1-3 up, but the Catalan saved a 15-40 on her serve in the fifth and broke her opponent’s serve immediately afterwards, thus tying the score.
However, Ruse showed fortitude to go 0-40 up on return in the ninth game and complete the break, taking the lead and immediately consolidating her advantage to clinch the opening set. Despite the setback, Badosa hardly felt any trouble and shone in the second set; she resolved it in half an hour, after two consecutive breaks in her favour.
So everything was decided in the third and final set, where the Romanian showed solidity with her serves. Badosa also did not suffer too much in her service turns and also broke her rival in the fifth game (3-2), which seemed to be the end of the game. Nothing could be further from the truth, Ruse returned the break immediately and later came close to victory.
With the score at 4-5 and 30-40 in favour of the Romanian, Badosa served better than ever and scared away that match point. In fact, the player born in Manhattan took courage in her homeland and won the next game to love on return (6-5), once again facing what smelled like a denouement. However, her opponent had not said the last word on the court.
Ruse went up 15-40, converted her first break point and set up the super tie-break. There, the Spaniard started 4-0 up and struggled to keep her distance (4-3, 8-7, 9-8), but sealed the win with a serve that the Romanian sent wide on her counterattack. Now, Badosa will play either the Belarusian Victoria Azarenka or the Chinese Yafan Wang.