As in Cincinnati, Paula Badosa finds himself without playing the second final of a Mastery 1000 of his career. He lost this Saturday in Beijing with a view to Coconut Gauffin a match that lasted almost two and a half hours. The American returned (4-6, 6-4 and 6-2), who had lost almost everything in the second set, but woke up in time. After eliminating the Spaniard, who returns to the World Top 15 after this tournament, the title will be played against the Czech. Muchova or the local favorite, the Chinese Qinwen Zheng.
“I feel good, I have confidence and I hope I can follow in the footsteps of a champion like Garbiñe,” she said after her quarterfinal victory, about emulating Muguruzalast Spanish champion of Open china, in 2015. And she took to the field with confidence to take the initiative in her match against the promising Gauff.
Badosa saved the first two points of the to break of the match, with 40-15 for Coco in the fourth match. She gained morale and on the next serve, she broke the American to take advantage. A turning point could have been the eighth game, in which the Catalan saved as many as seven broken balls, although she fell in the eighth. Mental exhaustion due to the hardness of the previous game punished Gauff, who gave in again on his next serve. At 4-5, even though she needed three set points, Paula put things in the middle with the match 0-1 on aggregate.
Coco Gauff’s expression showed her nerves threatening to take over, while Badosa seemed the opposite: complete calm. The Spanish quickly bit, causing to break to his rival during the first game of the second set. Holding serve was enough for Paula, who looked great in that sense: 75% of points won on serve up to 2-4 in this set.
Gauff faltered on his next two serves, but held on as best he could at the wire. It was difficult for Badosa to close the match, who benefited from five balls from to break in these games which would have almost condemned him. Coco pressed, even with a match late, and the Catalan had to be more serious than ever. She failed and the American tied the set with the first breaking ball she had. And she turned the situation around by closing the set 6-4 on Paula’s next serve which had brought it closer.
A new match appeared for the third set, but with an emotional balance that was sometimes tilting for Gauff. The American won her first serve blank and immediately broke Badosa’s serve, much more irregular now than in the rest of the match. Coco, who had everything going for her, already had the numbers to win. But tennis is a back-and-forth sport: the American loses her next serve and gives the Spaniard the opportunity to equalize a match that was beyond her control.
The fiercest version of Gauff took little time to reemerge, always accepting the toughest exchanges. Badosa saved a 0-40 against, but in the devil She lost her serve again against a rival who bet everything. All that remained was to continue fighting like a wild boar, but the challenge was already enormous, if not impossible. The Spaniard doesn’t give any more and Coco deals the final blow at 6-2. Farewell to a tournament which, yes, still leaves green shoots for our tennis player.
