Aryna Sabalenka beats best friend Paula Badosa to reach Round 4 at the French Open

admin admin | 06-02 00:15

Aryna Sabalenka beat her best friend Paula Badosa to reach the fourth round of the French Open.

Second seed Sabalenka edged a tight first set against the former world number two, and then ran away with the second to win 7-5 6-1.

The pair embraced warmly at the net, and Sabalenka said: "It's tough to play your best friend."

Spaniard Badosa clinched the first break early in the opening set courtesy of an outrageous net cord which bounced twice on the top of the net before flopping into Sabalenka's side of the court.

But Sabalenka cranked up the power and punished a couple of Badosa second serves to haul herself level.

Further breaks were exchanged until 6-5, where suddenly holding serve held the key and Sabalenka managed to do so to take the first set.

The second set did not match the first as Sabalenka raced into a 4-0 lead before wrapping up the victory in an hour and 17 minutes.

Badosa, who slipped out of the top 100 due to chronic injury problems, will now turn her attentions to the mixed doubles with boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Sabalenka added: "She is an incredible player coming back after injury. I'm pretty sure she is going to be back on top very soon.

"We are good at separating things. On court we are opponents and I try not to watch in the other side and just trying to focus on myself and bring my best game. It is always tough matches against her."

Sabalenka was joined in the second week by former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, seeded fourth, who beat Belgium's Elise Mertens 6-4 6-2.

Rybakina had to pull out of her third-round match at Roland Garros last year through illness, and also withdrew from the Italian Open last month.

When pressed, the 24-year-old did not exactly confirm a clean bill of health.

"I've been struggling a bit with sleep, some issues," she said. "So, of course, I had to skip tournaments. Also allergies and everything. Now I'm feeling pretty well and focused."

World number 88 Varvara Gracheva kept French hopes alive by beating Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets, while rain once again disrupted play on the outside courts.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.


ALSO READ

KSE-100 index closes at 81,459.29, up 997.95 points as investor optimism drives market

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a surge in investor optimism on Thursday, as the bench...

Gold prices in Pakistan reach new record of Rs268,500 per tola

Following a decline in the previous session, gold prices in Pakistan experienced a significant incre...

Number of clinical health staff increasing - Health NZ

Health officials have been marking the growth in the number of full-time clinical roles as evidence ...

Hazard mapping has 'chilling effect' on Nelson property market

Proposed hazard maps for Nelson are allegedly preventing properties across the city from being insur...

Woman called 'bad mum' after chasing down child stealer

A woman who stole an 18-month-old baby told the girl's mother she didn't deserve children when confr...

'Weak' case against diabetic driver thrown out by Australian court

A magistrate has criticised prosecutors as he threw out their "weak" case against a diabetic driver ...