Paula Badosa wasted the match point this Saturday in the second set and fell to 3-6, 7-5 and 6-3 Kazakh is new Elena Rybakina in second round of the Miami tournamentafter the Wimbledon champion eliminated him two weeks ago in Indian Wells.
ladybugworld number 29, was 4-2 up in the second set and, despite losing the lead break, had a match point with 5-4 and Rybakina served with 30-40. He could not capitalize on it and ended up succumbing to the Indian Wells champion after the match lasted two hours and 32 minutes.
The Spaniard, who is going through a very difficult moment and has not lost to rivals in the top 10 ranking since April 2022, seems to have overcome the most difficult moments against Rybakina and showed signs of growth on a technical and mental level.
Because, despite starting the match with little continuity, marked by a weakness in the serve of both players and four breaks in the first four games, she began to hit with power and confidence, hurt Rybakina and took the first set 6 -3.
That part released him from the tension and Badosa earned another break in the second set to escape 4-2against a Rybakina who seemed to lack energy.
The Kazakh is coming off a brilliant run to the Indian Wells title, as well as the Australian Open final, and showed signs of fatigue in her gutsy debut victory over Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya.
But he pulled out the champion stripes and was able to recover the break by vertically increasing the level of his punches. Badosa was frustrated and repeatedly looked to his coaching staff for answers. “What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?”, he shouted when he saw how the game was getting out of control.
During a pause at the end of the second set, he also gestured to his coaching staff suggesting that they Rybakina found the lines hitting without looking. The Kazakh was strong on serve and took advantage of his fourth break point at 5-5 in the light to open the way to 7-5 which leveled the game and forced the Spaniard to react.
Badosa coped positively with the psychological blow and held serve to love to open the third set, but suffered a decisive break in the seventh game and Rybakina held serve to love to go 5-3 up. He returned to serve and found the pass gone in the round of 16. He exchanged a hearty hug with Rybakina, a player he is friends with and often plays doubles with.
Yes, it is a heavy defeat for Badosa, who last year was a quarterfinalist in Miami. Currently, the Spanish will leave the top 30 and will be in position 33 in the ranking. It was a missed opportunity for Badosa, as Polish Iga Swiatek, world number one, who withdrew from the tournament due to a rib problem, was not in his side of the draw. In addition, the Russian Daria Kasatkina (n.8), who could be her rival in the round of 16, fell in her debut.
Source: La Verdad
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