MADRID, 21 One. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Paula Badosa remained the only Spanish representative in the women’s draw of the Australian Open, the first ‘Grand Slam’ of the season, after her hard-fought victory this Friday against the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 5 in the third round. -7, 6-4 and the defeat of Nuria Parrizas against the American Jessica Pegula by 7-6(3), 6-2.
The Catalan is already among the top 16 in the oceanic ‘great’ after chaining her eighth consecutive win, this much more suffered than the previous two due to the resistance of her young rival, with whom she also has a good relationship off the track.
The number six in the world had to deal with the 19-year-old tennis player for almost two and a half hours, but finally her experience helped her to get the match ahead, although she also had good chances of having avoided the third and final set when she had ‘break ‘ advantage.
It was a duel between two very aggressive players in their shots and where sometimes the remains prevailed. Badosa signed 25 winners, five less than the Ukrainian, but this one ended with 49 unforced errors, for the 42 of the Spanish, who did not have her best day with the service either with a total of nine double faults.
However, the eighth seed in Melbourne started well, especially when she was able to play first. Despite exchanging breaks, he managed two consecutive ‘breaks’ to get a comfortable 5-1 and close the first set without problems.
Things started in the best possible way in the second. Badosa broke Kostyuk’s serve at the first opportunity to take an advantage that lasted until the eighth game. There, she had 40-15, but her errors finally gave the game to the Ukrainian, who gained momentum to take the match to a third and definitive one by breaking and avoiding ‘sudden death’.
In any case, the Spanish reacted quickly, but it was difficult for her to take advantage of her advantages. Thus, he could not prevent Kostyuk from matching each of the ‘breaks’ he got at the beginning, but he did the third of the seventh game that he no longer wasted despite the fact that his rival pressed him until the end. Now, Badosa will have another test to be in the quarterfinals against the American Madison Keys.
PARRIZAS SAYS GOODBYE
For her part, Nuria Parrizas could not accompany her to the round of 16 after losing to the American Jessica Pegula, twenty-first seed and quarterfinalist last year in this first ‘Grand Slam’ of the season.
The player from Granada, who was in the third round of a ‘big’ for the first time, fell 7-6(3), 6-2 in a match where she was almost always trailing her rival and where her best options were in the first set, where he was able to recover two breaks and reach the ‘tie-break’.