Paula Badosa saves an awkward start with claw

Paula Badosa has reached a level that allows her to unclog complicated games on days of little brilliance. It does it with claw, by category. This is how the number six in the world ended the resistance of the Czech Marie Bouzkova (23 years old and 86th) to beat her by a double 7-5 in 2h03 in the WTA 1,000 in Miami, a tournament that has not been good for him. In fact, she had a negative balance in all five of her starts (3-4, 4-4 now) and fell to the top in 2016 and 2017 and to the second last year. His best result was on his debut, when he reached the third round in 2015.

In this edition he has already matched it and on Sunday he will have Yulia Putintseva as his rival in his attempt to go further27-year-old Kazakh and 47th whom he won 6-4 and 6-1 in his only duel to date (Wimbledon 2021). The victory against Bouzkova, a player who, coming from the previous one, had already adapted to the conditions of the tournament, different from those of Indian Wells where Badosa was a semifinalist, is the 75th of the Spanish in the women’s circuit. Paula opened the can in the first set just to score a break and sentence with her serve, and the second she had dominated, with a tennis more similar to what she is capable of offering, but it was quite complicated (from 5-1 to 5-5 due to a combative outburst from the Czech) until she was able to solve it.

“Maria is a player who fights for every ball. I knew it would be a very physical match. In the important moments I played very well, so I’m happy. Also because without feeling my best tennis, with nerves and in the first rounds, I try to fight for every point”, explained Begur, who has good statistics when she wins the first set: 14 wins in a row.

Sakkari, eliminada

In the way of Badosa, who had beaten Bouzkova (finalist this year in Guadalajara) in their previous confrontation (second round of Las Vegas 2017), there is no longer Maria Sakkari, who dethroned her last week at the BNP Paribas Open and fell against the odds this Friday in Miami against the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia (4-6, 6-1, 6-2). The Greek was a potential rival for the Catalan in the quarterfinals. In the round of 16, she could play against Victoria Azarenka, although the Belarusian suffered greatly to get rid of the Russian Alexandrova in three sets (6-4, 2-6 and 7-6 (5). The fight for number one will have to wait for her, because Iga Swiatek She beat the Swiss Golubic and will be the next leader of the ranking on April 4. He could face Badosa in a hypothetical semifinals.

Results of the WTA 1,000 in Miami.