Paula Badosa will play this Saturday (09h/Teledeporte-DAZN) for her place in the grand final of the China Open. The Catalan will face Coco Gauff, the highest-ranked player remaining in the tournament.
Undoubtedly, a high challenge for Badosa, who in recent weeks has been going through the best moments of his career, as shown by his victory in the tournament in Washington in August, or in his amazing victory on Thursday in the quarterfinals against to Jessica Pegula.
“I feel good, I have confidence, and I hope to follow in the footsteps of a champion like Garbiñe”said the tennis player after sealing his pass to the semifinals.
And it was that Muguruza is the only Spaniard to win in the Chinese capitalwhich adds an important incentive for Badosa.
Badosa was full of praise for his opponent in the semifinals. “Coco is a very good player, who had a very good year, that’s why he is where he is in the ranking” he assured of the American, whom he led face to face between the two.
They have met five times, with the balance 3-2 for the Spanishwho won in Indian Wells 2021 (6-2, 6-2), in San José 2022 (7-6, 6-2) and in Madrid 2023 (6-3, 6-0), while the American won in Doha 2022 (6-2, 6-3) and this year in Rome (5-7, 6-4, 6-1).
Besides registering her name with Garbiñe Muguruza, Badosa has another challenge: getting back into the Top 10. If she reaches the final, the Begur player will temporarily be placed in 10th place in the WTA Race, the classification of the year, a very important step in achieving the goal that seemed impossible just a few months ago: qualifying for the WTA Finals.
If he wins the title on Sunday, Badosa will move up to ninth place, a very short distance from eighth place.before the dispute, next week, of the Wuhan tournament, the last Premier 1000 of the season.
Although Gauff is one of the best players in the world, Badosa dominates the front of the two.. They have met five times, with a balance of 3-2 for the Spaniard, who won in Indian Wells 2021 (6-2, 6-2), in San José 2022 (7-6, 6-2) and in Madrid 2023 (6 -3, 6-0), while the American won in Doha 2022 (6-2, 6-3) and this year in Rome (5-7, 6-4, 6-1).
The other semi-final (12h) will face Karolina Muchovawho gave a big surprise in the quarterfinals by defeating Aryna Sabalenka (7-6, 2-6, 6-4), and Qinwen Zhengwho beat young Russian Mirra Andreeva (5-7, 6-0, 6-4.
Source: La Verdad
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