Paula Badosathe top favorite of the tournament in Madrid, debuted at this event in his status as number two in world tennis, a situation that pushed him into the pressure in which he was comfortable: “What a problem” !, he ironed on the eve of his debut at Caja Mágica.
“It’s really different to be 70 to be number 2“, the Spanish player admits.” You have pressure, you play as a favorite, rivals play more loosely. Everything is very different. It’s a pressure, but … what a problem!“, He added.
“Serena Williams said that pressure is a privilege and I agree. Although you have to learn to manage it, because in my case everything went very fast: a few months for another top 10, two now in the world … I need to assimilate it gradually“said Badosa, who rose to world number two this week.
He will play the Mutua Madrid Open as the top favorite, when the first seed and world number one, Polish Iga Swiatek, retired on Wednesday due to injury. An unexpected event that Badosa did not think about for a few hours before jumping into the plant.
“Swiatek is on the other side and I would have met her in the final. To get there I have many games like the final. I have to look on my side, which is very hard. I hope I have a problem with the finals,” he said. .
Badosa stressed that he has always loved playing on the central court in Madrid and is “very excited to start there tomorrow” in what he described as “a very complex match” against Russian Veronika Kurdemetova, who won here three of the four times they played, even though the Spaniard won the last time, in the quarterfinals of the last Indian Wells tournament .
“He is a very aggressive server, which will leave me little time to play, and I have to quickly adapt to the conditions.. Let’s see if between me, the team and the people we get a game like that, because it’s going to be very complicated “, he insisted after his morning training session.
Badosa considers he has a “very, very difficult draw” in front of him, with possible rivals such as Romanian Simona Halep, Tunisian Ons Jabeur and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, defending the title.
“I wanted it to be different, but it was what touched me. In the beginning I will have a very hard fightbut I’m ready. I’ve played a lot and I really want to play at home, “he said. He wants to” have one or two more days of training, “because he came to Madrid just 48 hours ago,” and here the conditions are different- different and we need to adapt ”.
Badosa played in the Madrid tournament in 2021 as a guest player and reached the semifinalsa milestone in his career that he sees today as the beginning of his rise to the top of tennis.
“This contest pushed me a lot, it gave me so much confidence. Two weeks before I defeated Ashleigh Barty and I thought if I beat number one I could beat anyone.. I don’t know if it’s true or false, but in your mind you believe. And playing well at home gave me a lot of confidence and my career started to rise ”, he assured.
“He always says it, even when he’s not among the best 50: he wants to be one of the best in the world.“he said.” And a small part of me always thought I could do it. I went through a very difficult process and at that time I saw nothing, but I always dreamed big and that’s why I became a tennis player: a brave player who didn’t like the rival with whom he could compete. , “he said.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
