Paula Badosa continues to struggle to return to her best level, shining at times in the Foro Itálico arena. The Spanish tennis player has fallen in the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters against Jelena Ostapenko this Wednesday after a match where the Latvian won with her game from the beginning (6-2, 4-6 and 6-3). Badosa stood up to her rival and managed to take the match to the third set, but Ostapenko’s aggressive play and impossible-to-return balls gave the Catalan no options.
The Latvian tennis player, number 20 in the world, took the first set without Badosa offering hardly any resistance after showing a more intense and technical game. The Spaniard had just beaten Muchová in a match that lasted more than three hours and she noted the accumulated fatigue. Ostapenko sent his opponent running, sending the ball away from Badosa where he couldn’t reach it.
The Catalan tennis player had to sweat to face the Latvian in the second set. Badosa worked every point against an Ostapenko who had no problem finding the best place to put the ball and showed a great level to counteract the strategic adjustments of Begur’s.
After breaking her rival’s serve, Badosa tried to hold on to her serve to defend her slight advantage, but Ostapenko wasted no time in recovering the three games she was down to once again overwhelm the Spaniard. With the set even, Badosa gathered strength to win two games in a row against Ostapenko, who was beginning to make unforced errors, and managed to take the match to the third set.
At the start of the third set, Ostapenko made his intentions clear and broke Badosa’s serve in the first game with no options. The one from Begur did not give up before the superiority of its opponent. The Latvian tennis player missed shots that gave Badosa wings, who grew up and made it clear that she was a rival to be reckoned with, but Ostapenko returned to the charge to seal the last set.
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