“I think it was a positive week,” Paula Badosa optimistic about her future prospects despite semifinal loss at Indian Wells
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Paula Badosa with her 2021 Indian Wells trophy
Paula Badosa’s bid to win her second Indian Wells championship was dashed by World No. 6 Maria Sakkari just as she was about to take a stride forward. The Greek defeated the Spaniard in a hard-fought three-set encounter before advancing to the finals against Iga Swiatek. As a result, Badosa was denied her second title at the Indian Wells tournament.
In the press conference after the game, Paula Badosa heaped praises on her rival’s gameplay and shared her thoughts. “First of all, I want to congratulate Maria. She very much deserves this victory. She played a great match. I didn’t play my best tennis, but the credit for that goes to her because it was her fault that I didn’t play that well,” explained the Spaniard, who is just one rank behind the Greek in the WTA ladder.
The fifth seed, Badosa, had a chance to win the third set but couldn’t keep her serve. Badosa won a breakpoint and served to tie the game after trailing behind a break. But, after losing her service three times in the first set, Sakkari broke and moved up a break before holding serve to go up 4-1. She took a two-break lead and then served the match out.
As a result, Paula Badosa couldn’t stop complimenting her opponent with powerful terms like “She served well”, “she moved very well”, “she played very fast” Etc. She also went on to indicate that it was difficult for her to start the game. ” I think I didn’t serve well, I wasn’t good with the debris either, at the back of the court I was failing too much and I wasn’t being aggressive. But she played very well. She served well, she moved very well, she played very fast and didn’t give me time to build my points.”
Furthermore, She revealed that her emotions got the best of her after the match, as she was frustrated with her disappointing performance. “From the beginning, I didn’t have the best feelings. Sometimes you don’t have those feelings and the only option you have is to keep fighting. That’s what I’ve tried to do and that’s why I was a little more emotional (than usual) because I was angry that I couldn’t play my tennis,” she said.
“Tomorrow I will see it better and in a more positive way”: Paula Badosa
Paula Badosa, who has established herself as a tennis phenomenon, made her main draw debut at the 2015 WTA 1000 Miami Open, where she advanced to the third round. In 2016, she returned to Miami for her next main draw WTA match. However, unlike last year, she was eliminated in the first round this time. But, after four years of struggle, Badosa finally cracked the Top 100 in 2019.
However, little did she know that the struggle was not over yet. After battling her way through the tournaments, the 24-year-old made it to the fourth round of her maiden Grand Slam, the Roland Garros, in 2020. Paula joined the Top 50 after the semifinals of the 2020 Madrid Open, despite the fact that she was still fighting against the odds.
Paula won her maiden WTA competition in the WTA 250 Serbia Ladies Open after gaining confidence by entering the Top 50. Then she went on to win the 2021 Indian Wells title, continuing her excellent run and earning a spot in the Top 10 as a result of her victory.
The 24-year-old has been on an unbelievable run since then. She advanced to the Quarter-finals by defeating 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez in the fourth round, with the dreams of defending her title. However, her journey and dreams were cut short as Sakkari’s powerful tennis got the best of her.
Despite her defeat, Badosa provided a positive assessment of her performance in Indian Wells, stating that she “played at a very good level” and demonstrated “her competitive spirit.” “I am happy with how I have defended the title. Obviously, now I am sad and I see everything negative, but I suppose tomorrow I will see it better, more positive, and I’m happy about how I was mentally and my fighting spirit. I was very competitive in every match. So, yeah, I think it was a positive week,” she concluded before emphasizing that her next challenge will be starting next week at the WTA 1000 in Miami.
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Pritha Ghosh
(414 Articles Published)