[88] Paula Badosa (ESP) vs. [124] Patricia Maria Tig (ROU)
Twenty-one-year-old Paula Badosa seems to be finally coming into her own this season. The New York born Spaniard has cracked the top hundred this year for the first time in her career by going deep in the draw of some WTA tournaments.
Badosa Utilized Her Favorite Shots
Badosa got to the semifinals in July at the tournament in Palermo where she lost to the number one seed. Today she saved eight of the nine break points against her serve by utilizing her two favorite shots: her backhand and her serve. She attacked with some well-placed backhand down the line winners, served fairly well on her first serve, and won sixty percent of her second serves.
Tig Had Chances
A lack of match toughness was Tig’s undoing, as she failed to capitalize on the seven break point opportunities she had in the first set. Badosa rode that momentum into the second set and broke early; however, a bit of tension crept into her game in the second set but Badosa made the necessary adjustments after a visit from her coach. Her backhand down the line was a lethal weapon against her opponent the entire match, and she used it to keep her opponent off balance.
Tig Coming Back From Back Injury
Tig, like so many athletes, has battled injury. The twenty-five-year-old Romanian, who got to a career high of eighty-three in 2017 is trying to get back into the top hundred. In addition to injury issues, Tig is also now a mother, and getting to the final of her home tournament earlier this season by defeating three seeded players was a tremendous accomplishment. It was really a pity she did not win the final; yet, she proved to herself that she still has the game, now it is simply a matter of regaining the consistency in her form and the confidence.
Once the Spaniard broke again in the second set and regained the lead, there was nothing Tig could do to stop her momentum this time as Badosa just kept increasing the pace and depth on her shots. She won 6-4, 6-2 and is into the quarterfinals to face the number eight seed, Yafan Wang.
SOURCE OF IMAGES: serveandrally originals (Paula Badosa)
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