Paula Badosa played this Wednesday in her debut in the San José tournament. The Spaniard faced the young Elizabeth (Elli) Hana Mandlik, 21 years old and No. 240 in the rankings, which came after picking up the first professional victory of her career on Monday when she defeated Alison Riske, No. 33, in the first round. by 6-3 and 6-3.
Things started well for the world number 4, already he took the first set by a resounding 6-2 after overcoming an initial break by the American player.
Everything seems under control for Badosa, already he still has up to three break balls in the fourth game of the second set to go up 3-1 and leave the match almost in sight for the sentence, but then came the problems.
Mandlik began to loosen up and show the tennis expected from a promising player. At 5-4 down, he showed his best shots and, taking advantage of a series of Catalan errors, chained three straight games to close out the second set 7-5.
In the third set Badosa was on the ropes, with his rival serving for the match with 5-4 and 6-5 on the scoreboard. There came the best version of the second seed of the tournament, who managed to force a tiebreak where he shot ex officio to finish. take the victory by 6-2, 5-7 and 7-6(5) after two hours and 32 minutes of intense fighting.
With her victory, Badosa became the first Spaniard to reach the quarterfinals of this tournament since Carla Suárez did so in 2019. Her opponent next Friday will be the winner of the match between Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff.
This Wednesday is Paula Badosa’s first match since she lost to Simona Halep in the Wimbledon round of 16 in early July.
A rival with pedigree
Paula Badosa’s rival Elizabeth (Elli) Hana Mandlik is the daughter of four-time Grand Slam champion Hana Mandlikova. Czech nationalized Australian who settled in the United States, where she decided to become a mother and have twins Elli and Mark. Both had their mother as a tennis coach. With a winner of Roland Garros (1981), US Open (1985) and Australian Open (1987). He failed to reach two Wimbledon finals, a tournament he won as a coach through the ill-fated Jana Novotna.
Elli, 21 years old and number 240 in the ranking, made a big profit from the invitation given by the tournament to play the preliminary phase, where she defeated the Mexican Fernanda Contreras and the Swiss Jil Teichman, number 21. This led in her debut in the main draw of the WTA Tour, which she resolved by defeating her American compatriot Alison Riske, number 33, 6-3, 6-3.
His maternal grandfather’s surname was Mandlik, a famous Czech athlete who distinguished himself in sprinting. Specializing in 200 meters, he participated in the Olympic Games of Melbourne 1956 and Rome 1960.
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.
