MADRID, 27 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa was excited to be in Spain to compete in the Mutua Madrid Open, a tournament where last year she reached the semifinals despite playing as a guest and which gave her “a boost and that extra confidence” to be currently among the best, already number two in the world, a “pressure” that he likes and that he has always “dreamed” of having, but that he must also “learn to manage”.
“This tournament pushed me a lot, it gave me that extra confidence, of just believing in you. Just two weeks before, playing and beating Barty (in Charleston) also helped me because mentally it allowed me to think that, if I win the number one in the world, I can beat anyone. You believe it and then coming home and doing so well with all the pressure gave me a boost and confidence, and it is in Madrid where my career perhaps began to go up”, he stressed Badosa this Wednesday in his attention to the media in the Magic Box.
The Catalan also recognized that everything looks “different, very different” as number two in the world. “It’s totally different from being in the 70th, you’re more exposed, with more pressure because you play as a favorite and your rivals are looser, but it’s also a pressure that I’ve always dreamed of having,” she warned.
“I think it was Serena Williams who said that this pressure was a privilege and I totally agree. Now I have to learn to manage it because everything has gone very fast and in a few months I have gone from the ‘Top 10’ to being the two in the world and I have to take the steps little by little and assimilate this because there is a process to accept that I am here,” he added.
The Spanish assured that “always”, even when she was far away in the world ranking, that her “dream” and “goal” was to be so high. “I have always believed that a small part of me could achieve it, of course I have gone through a very hard process and where I did not see anything, but I have always dreamed big and that has helped me a lot to be the tennis player that I am, brave now the one that does not care about the rival that is going to compete”, he remarked.
“I HAVE TOUCHED A VERY HARD FRAME”
In any case, he believes that he has had “a very tough table” to try to repeat or improve what was achieved last year in the capital. “I would like it to be different, I’m not going to lie. From the beginning I’m going to have very tough games, but I’m ready, I’ve been playing a lot of games and I’m really looking forward to playing at home”, confessed the Catalan.
“Honestly, I would have liked to have had a day or two more of training because I arrived relatively 48 hours ago and here the conditions are very different because you have to adapt to the altitude”, continued Badosa.
The Spanish, who did not give excessive importance to the loss of the Polish Iga Swiatek because she was only going to find her “in the final”, will have “a very difficult match” in her debut this Thursday against Veronika Kudermetova. “You don’t play in the same way as when you’ve played two or three games and she’s a very aggressive player and she’s going to give me little time to play. I have to adapt very quickly to the conditions and I’m going to try to get my team, the people and I help me get the game”, he said about the Russian, who has beaten him in three of his four clashes.
“I’ve always liked playing on central courts, not just here, although this one is more special. I’m also very fond of Arancha Sánchez Vicario because she had very nice games last year, but playing on Manolo Santana It’s very special and I’m really looking forward to it”, he stated about the fact of playing in this edition on the main court of the Caja Mágica due to his status as world number two.