Girona tennis player Paula Badosa, number 7 in the WTA rankings, started this Saturday with a good start to the title defense conquered last year at Indian Wells, by imposing itself by 6-2 i 7-6(4) in Czech Tereza Martincovanumber 42.
In the tournament where he made history last year, when he started away from the favorites to be crowned champion, Badosa returned to the center court with a solid performance and won in one hour and 37 minutes.
The 24-year-old from Begur positively solved a demanding debut, against a rival to which he had never won in three precedents, without being able to even win a set.
It fell to the Czech in Acapulco 2018, Essen 2019 and Ostrava 2020, but it was still a very different version of Badosa from the current one.
A player who has gained confidence and who, after the feat of Indian Wells 2021, has already won the Sydney tournament in 2022.
On the central track of Indian Wells, just minutes after that Rafa Nadal got an epic comeback against American Sebastian Korda to advance in the round, Badosa quickly escaped 4-0 in the first set, with two breaks, and sentenced him to a solid 6-2 in just half an hour.
More complicated was the second set, in which Martincova raised the bar and managed to take the service to the begurenca in the second game. However, Badosa returned the breach to him immediately and from that moment on did not grant him any options with the service again.
And she was aggressive about the rest. He had three chances to break with the 4-4 on the scoreboard, but his opponent managed to cancel them and force the tiebreaker.
The reigning champion knew how to manage the pressure well and competed solidly in the tiebreaker, taking control of the points and sentencing the 7-4 clash to prolong her journey in the California desert.
