Aryna Sabalenka had many problems against Paula Badosa in their match at the 2024 Roland Garros, but she overcame all of them and won in two sets.
The two third-round protagonists are very good friends outside of the court, and their matches are always interesting to watch. There is a lot of friendly competitiveness there with heightened emotions, and that's what fans in Paris got to see.
They actually played twice this year prior to their meeting at the French Open, and Sabalenka won both of those matches. The first one was in Miami, and it was a pretty simple win for Sabalenka. The second meeting was in Stuttgart, where Badosa was forced to retire after pushing Sabalenka quite a bit.
Their match at the Roland Garros was similar in that regard because the conditions were also very similar to the match in Stuttgart. The Belarusian opened with an early break but was then outplayed by a very inspired and focused Badosa, who actually served for the opening set at 5-4.
She didn't manage to close it out and then got outplayed in the two final games to lose the opening set 7-5. Sabalenka was the more aggressive player and attacked relentlessly, but she didn't find the best rhythm until very late in the opening set.
She continued to crush her opponent in the second set, taking an early 2-0 lead and then adding one more break to take a 4-0 lead. From there, it was a pretty simple cruise for the second set, who was just amazing.
The way she turned it on quickly to win 8 games in a row was special and once again highlighted her candidacy to win this event. She's only been outshined by Iga Swiatek so far and mostly because the Polish player beat her in their last two matches. The final score in this match was 7-5, 6-1 for Sabalenka.
| Aryna Sabalenka | 7-5, 6-1 | Paula Badosa |
| 0 | Aces | 1 |
| 1 | Double Faults | 3 |
| 69% | First Serve % | 60% |
| 63% (22/35) | Points Won After First Serve % | 50% (20/40) |
| 50% (8/16) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 37% (10/27) |
| 39% (7/18) | Break Point Conversion | 75% (3/4) |
| 28 | Winners | 27 |
| 19 | Unforced Errors | 19 |