The dream of doubling lives in Indian Wells by Paula Padusa. After winning the 2021 California Desert Championship, the Spaniard continued to advance steadily and qualified this Tuesday to the quarter-finals after defeating Ecuadorean-Canadian Leila Fernandez.
Very strong from start to finish, Badosa, seventh in the WTA rankings, beat Fernandes, ranked 21st in the world, by a 6-4 double in 1 hour 42 minutes.
Padusa, the only Spaniard to win Indian Wells to have nine consecutive victories at this tournament between last year and this year, will face Russia’s Veronika Kudremetova in Thursday’s quarter-finals, who beat Czech Marketa Vondrosova. Legend Martina Navratilova is the only female tennis player to win two consecutive titles at Indian Wells (1990 and 1991).
United State
Padusa, who does not know what it means to lose at Indian Wells in two matches, wants to face Navratilova, the only female tennis player to have repeated the title.
Después de derrotar en la tercera ronda a su compatriota Sara Sorribes Tormo, Badosa se veía las caras este martes y en la pista central de Indian Wells con Leylah Fernández, de solo 19 años pero que causó sensación la final en 2021 del alcanto United State.
Padusa started with great confidence from the back of the court and secured her serve with resolve. In addition, the Spaniards quickly put Fernandes in trouble, with a game that is very daring and exhilarating but also prone to mistakes.
Badosa performs a backhand
The Canadian managed to save four break balls, but on the fifth time a backhand went into the net and Padusa dominated the match (4-3). Fernandez’s reaction was to immediately break Padusa’s serve, but the Spaniards responded without wasting time in a new break after a superb cross from the right corner (5-4).
Padusa finally won the first set by controlling his serve and forehand (he won 81% of the points with his first serve).
The panorama has looked very good for Padusa since this year he won all 11 matches in which he managed to advance in Group A. However, Fernandes took a step forward in the second set and was more aggressive against Badosa who was the only one but all night had double faults (7 in total).
Young Layla Fernandez couldn’t stop Badusa
Meeting, at a high level, lived at the beginning of this second set one of his most exciting sections as the tennis players exchange blows nonstop.
Padusa brushed his teeth and worked two of the balls against them, but his moment came 0-40 in his favour and 2-2 on the scoreboard. Fernandes, increasingly frustrated with his opponent’s reliability, won three straight points and looked to be avoiding such a mess, but finally succumbed to the break with a fresh setback that stayed in the net (3-2).
With the wind in his favour, Padusa showed his top tennis player, dismantling Fernandez’s last resistance with a massive forehand and serve, clinching a quarter-final ticket in style and reminding all of his Indian Wells rivals that the champion defender is keen to repeat in 2022.
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