Paula Badosa displayed a fantastic mental strength to solve with great effort her duel against the Czech Petra Kvitová (32 years old), winner of Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, and achieved a very meritorious victory to stand in the round of 16, where he will meet the Romanian Simona Halep.
The Spanish had to row against the current during a very tough first set. She started the game without the necessary tension and was surprised by the aggressiveness of her rival, always interested in shortening the points, but in this section she was very successful both with her serve and the rest. Of the first eleven points, Badosa could only win one.
The game was going too fast, but the tennis player born in Manhattan did not lose her calm and instead of trying to win points, she continued at her own pace, gaining solidity from the back of the court and, above all, bringing out her serve as a determining weapon. She began to dominate the game while Kvitová, increasingly, bet on shortening the points as it was.
The Spanish would have up to six break balls before the tenth game, which they reached 4-5 and with a serve for the Czech player. By that time Badosa already felt superior, with the authority to dominate the game. That’s where the first break came, the moment when something broke in Kvitová, aware that his rival would not give him any more options.
This is what Badosa did, keeping calm, serving intelligently and not leaving comfortable balls for the Czech, who would lose her serve again in the twelfth game. The Spanish put so much pressure on her rival that she gave up her serve, and with it the set, with a double fault at the decisive point. The game was where Badosa wanted, it only remained to certify it in the second set.
Kvitová was already a much more awkward rival than Louisa Chirico and Irina Bara. Very experienced at Wimbledon, where she won the 2011 and 2014 editions, the serve and her flat backhand shot were her best weapons. Although at 32 years old her best time has passed, the Czech showed arrests and at the beginning of the second set she had three break points in the third game. She was saved by the Spanish. Both won their serve with many problems, especially the Spanish, who gave up eight break balls. But she overcame all the setbacks that her rival raised, including the wind and ended up forcing the tie break. There she once again displayed a fantastic serve and Kvitova’s nerves ended up giving her the win.
“Kvitová is a great champion, one of the great challenges for me was playing against her on grass, you can’t imagine what it’s like to win on grass against her for me, it’s incredible. Playing against a legend like her on center court is very special”, acknowledged the Spaniard after the match.
Badosa will face the Romanian Simona Halep, another very complicated rival, in the round of 16. “Another champion, but I’m playing very well, I’m having fun, which is very important to me, I hope to have a great game like today,” she concluded.
