Paula Badosa started off her 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix campaign with a win over Russian Diana Shnaider, who beat her earlier this year.
This is a pretty interesting matchup between two players who actually played earlier this year. Shnaider was then on top of Badosa, but by now in the year, the Spaniard found some form and outplayed the Russian in this meeting. Being on a surface she knows well certainly helped with that, and being at an event where she played decently in the past also helped.
Badosa has been trending upward for a few weeks now. Her win over Simona Halep at the Miami Open was certainly a solid one, especially with how Halep started, and it's good to see her continuing to win. This match started well for Badosa, who kept applying much pressure on her opponent, and the Russian couldn't hold for too long.
After taking a brea in the first set, Badosa could keep her serve relatively comfortably outside of one game where she faced some break points. After enduring that, Badosa closed out the opening set 6-3. The second one saw Shnaider fight back decently, but she couldn't quite get it done.
The crucial moment happened midway through the set when she had a 40-0 lead on Badosa's serve and failed to convert it. Had she done that, we might have gotten three sets, but she didn't, and Badosa was able to switch momentum on her side and take the lead. She would then almost close it out at 5-3 but ultimately did it at 5-4 with a solid service game.
The Spaniard's very solid 6-3 6-4 win over a tricky opponent who gave her plenty of trouble earlier in the year is great to see. She will now face good friend Aryna Sabalenka, just like last year. The only difference is that it will be a second round, while last year it was a quarter-final.
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