Dog day in Paris, except for the lucky tennis players whose matches are scheduled at the Philippe Chatrier Court or the Suzanna Lenglen, the two stadiums with retractable roofs. A blessing in the rainy season, which delayed the start from eleven in the morning to four in the afternoon.
And the dance began with the match play sequence. One of the victims, the Spaniard Paula Badosa, whose match against the British Katie Boulter changed the scene as the hours passed.
He ended up on court 9, at 9:00 pm on a cold and wet night. The same situation for his opponent, although there is an aggravating factor in his case, because the long wait and the conditions did not help his physical condition, a punished lower back area, which requires injections to allow he continues in the competition.
Badosa, 26 years old and world No. 139, rebelled against everything, including a bump that almost left his KO. He persevered and got the prize against debutant Boulter, 27 years old and No. 28 WTA.
The Catalan won 4-6, 7-5 and 6-4 in 2h.18′ in his return to Roland Garros, which he missed in the last edition due to a lumbar vertebra injury and where he keeps the quarterfinals of 2021 as his best result.
In the second round she will face a tennis warrior, the Kazakh Yulia Putintseva, a constant pain in the ass who defeated the American Sloane Stephens 6-1 and 6-2.
Badosa took a 4-2 lead in the first set. He has two balls for 5-2. However, he did not finish them, and then collapsed in an alarming way. He answered 0-4 to 4-6. And, more significantly, he delivered 17 of 18 points played in the meaning of the set.
He spoke several times with his coach, Pol Toledo, who was behind the court. There was a shadow of a retreat, because a certain hardness could be seen in his body, which hit the ball immediately to avoid direct combat.
He endured, and gradually regained the strength of the beginning. In great honor and supported by a raucous group of Spanish fans who repeated his name and the motto ‘yes we can’, as if it were a national team match.
Badosa’s enthusiasm and class are matched by Boulter’s struggles in the world. A tennis player with flat, direct shots, but not very creative. It’s in fixed gear, not even exploring a drop shot or a change of pace like the Spaniard in his clear moments of crisis.
Badosa connected in the stands, allowing himself to be carried away to lead a heroic comeback, of great merit and importance. With the radical turns he required at critical moments in his career, he knew he was subject to the whims of a delicate back.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
