Friday, November 15, 2024, 17:52
The dream of winning the sixth Billie Jean King Cup title was short-lived. Sara Sorribes and Paula Badosa stood up to the Polish Magda Linette and Iga Swiatek, but lost their two individual matches and the adventure of Anabel Medina’s girls ended in the round of 16 (2-0).
It was an unfriendly opponent for the first qualifying round, with Swiatek, world number two, as a great reference on the other side of the net, but Spain competed. Sorries fell in a battle of three hours and 51 minutes against Magda Linette (6-7 (6), 6-2 and 4-6), while Badosa spent more than two and a half hours on the court against the best Polish racket (3 -6, 7-6 (5) and 6-1), at the point that confirmed Spain’s defeat.
Despite being resolved through the fast track, in two games, Spain was close to being able, at the very least, to force the doubles or to have put more pressure on Swiatek, because Sorribes had more than half a victory in his pocket against Linette. The player from Castellón was up 3-0 in the tie break of the first set, which the Pole ended up taking, and, above all, she was 3-0 in favor in the third set. There, he suffered a 1-6 partial in games and was left with honey on his lips in a duel that lasted almost four hours.
This defeat left all the weight on the shoulders of Badosa, who knew that, if he did not beat Swiatek, Spain would be out and it would be Poland that would face the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. The Spaniard handled this pressure well and her start to the match was much better than that of the former world number one. Until 3-3, it was Badosa who dominated, although he lacked a bit of aggressiveness and initiative for the first and only break point he enjoyed in the first set. From that point, which held Swiatek, the Pole did not lose a game again until 6-3.
Comeback threat
Badosa was at the limit, 6-3 and 4-2 down against one of the best, if not the best in the world, but she started a burst of courage with which she recovered two breaks and forced the tie break. With the pavilion overturned with her, Badosa went from being two points away from being eliminated to seeing Swiatek throw a backhand into the hallway and give her the set. Malaga believed again.
However, Swiatek is able to not feel those impacts on the chin. Just a few minutes after losing that set that had lasted an hour and a quarter, he accelerated in the final set with a 1-4. With that advantage, the match was stopped for several minutes due to a medical problem in the stands, and when it resumed the Warsaw player finished the job, two more games in the bag and Poland will be in the quarterfinals, accompanied by Canada, Australia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Japan and Italy. Spain, eliminated.
“I think it was the best match since I returned to the circuit after the US Open,” said the world number two. As a farewell, the pavilion sang happy birthday to Badosa, who celebrated 27 years this Friday, and also said goodbye to Medina, who is retiring as captain after seven years at the helm.
