Paula Badosa continued playing well in the second round of the 2024 Australian Open by overcoming Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The Russian is a tricky player with a pretty well-known and dangerous skill set. She's one of the stronger hitters on the WTA Tour and generally plays attacking tennis that can be hard to counter.
Recent years have been quite rough due to injuries, but the same can be said for Badosa, who spent most of 2023 on the sidelines, travelling around the tournaments with her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas.
She returned at the World Tennis League a few weeks ago, showing a decent level, and it's only been looking better as of late. She played a match in Adelaide and lost but did well enough to win the opening match at the Australian Open.
This one was pretty solid as well because she didn't face too many problems against a player that is known to bother many players. Much of that had to do with her simply playing a really good match.
The Spanish player served well and outhit her opponent from the baseline, which is a combination that rarely goes wrong. The first-set score reflected that well, 6-2.
The second set was pretty similar as the same things applied. Badosa was once again the player who played better. She once again served better and once again outhit her opponent from the baseline.
To be fair, her serve contributed to that because it minimized the amount of pressure Pavlyuchenkova could generate. That snowballed into other areas of the match and essentially proved crucial.
Badosa maintained a one-break lead for much of the second set but then added another one in the final game of the match as the Russian lost focus towards the end. The final score was 6-2, 6-3 which is a pretty strong win for the Spaniard. She's looking very good.
Paula Badosa vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Match Stats:
| Paula Badosa | Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | |
| 9 | Aces | 4 |
| 4 | Double Faults | 2 |
| 53% | First Serve % | 59% |
| 83% (25/30) | Points Won After First Serve % | 53% (17/32) |
| 56% (15/27) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 50% (11/22) |
| 50% (4/8) | Break Point Conversion | 0% (0/5) |
| 31 | Winners | 19 |
| 13 | Unforced Errors | 17 |
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