Badosa defeats Muchova and qualifies for the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 in Rome

The Spanish Paula Badosa ended the resistance of the Czech Karolina Muchova in three sets, 6-4, 6-7 (4) and 6-2. After more than three hours of battle, she qualified for the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 in Rome for the first time in her career.

The Catalan is unstoppable in this tournament. Once again she showed that with this improved version of herself she is capable of anything.. To overcome any setback. She did so during the match against a combative Muchova, who put up a fight but was inferior in the decisive moments, in which the Spaniard pressed.

The first of Badosa's many resilience exercises came in the first game, when he raised a break ball to hold his serve.. In his second serve he raised the challenge and lifted two against a Muchova who came out strong, marking ground, and who obtained the reward he had sought so much in the fifth game to get 3-2 up and confirm the break with his serve in the next .

However, Badosa did not give up, far from it, on the Italian clay. It was conceding that hard blow, which almost put the set on track, and he broke out from the bottom of the court to make four games in a row and score the set. A contribution of energy and confidence that he celebrated cautiously, aware that Muchova was not going to give up so easily.

In the second round, the Czech showed that she had the level to compete against the Spanish, who she pushed to the limit with drop shots and angled balls with which she achieved the first of the many breaks in the set.

Then, in the middle of the second stake, a strange moment of the match began, in which neither was able to impose their serve and in which the services were distributed, four in a row, which left the score 4-3 in favor of the Czech. Then, Badosa emerged again to break again and lead the set to a tie-break in which Muchova was more successful.

The third sleeve decided everything. It was a new game but with two hours and twenty minutes of wear game. On the horizon for Badosa, the possibility of improving last year’s result and to return to be a quarterfinalist in a WTA 1000, to return to be among the best.

And Badosa did not fail. She did not feel the pressure, she became great. She jumped to give it all and got with 2-0 in favor with a break on the first serve of the Czech, and had a golden opportunity to break again in the fifth game (which would have meant the 4-1), but could not close well the point.

The Catalan was not going to let it slip away. Muchova was getting smaller and Badosa took advantage of it to break again and put the victory on track. In her hands, a quarterfinal. She did not delay and celebrated with rage and illusion her best result in Rome. She will be seeded at Roland Garros and will climb seven places in the ranking, to number 28. Her next opponent will be the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, whom she will face in the quarterfinals.