Maria Sakkari vs Paula Badosa will take place in the round of 16 of the 2023 WTA Madrid Open on May 1.
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Maria Sakkari competed against Spanish wildcard Rebeka Masarova until well after midnight. She needed to take the long way to win the first set, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, because she failed to convert any of her four breakpoints. The world No. 9 has matched her best Madrid performance with a victory over Arantxa Rus in straight sets. She advanced to the round of 16 in Caja Magica two years ago as well, but fell to Karolina Muchova in a three-set, two-and-a-half-hour match. Although she has advanced to 11 quarterfinals since the beginning of the previous season and recently reached the semifinals in Linz, Doha, and Indian Wells, she still has a four-year title drought.
The last remaining Spaniard in the draw is Paula Badosa. Coco Gauff, the sixth seed and last year’s Roland-Garros finalist, was destroyed by her, 6-3, 6-0, after making 37 unforced errors and only eight winners. After an unconvincing three-set victory over Elisabetta Cocciaretto in two and a half hours, it is a good, strong recovery. The only other time she advanced past the second round in Madrid was in 2021, when the former world No. 2 defeated Barbora Krejcikova and Belinda Bencic to reach the semifinals. Although she is not in the top 40 and is back in the competition, she appears to have had a successful start to the clay-court swing after reaching the quarterfinals in Charleston and Stuttgart.
| Maria Sakkari vs Paula Badosa | Match details |
|---|---|
| Date | May 1, 2023 |
| Surface | Clay |
| Tournament | Madrid Open |
| Stage | Round of 16 |
| Time (India) | 7:30 pm |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Rebeka Masarova | 6-3, 3-6, 3-6 (W) |
| Arantxa Rus | 6-4, 6-4 (W) |
| Karolina Pliskova | 6-2, 6-3 (L) |
| Bianca Andreescu | 7-5, 3-6, 4-6 (L) |
| Aryna Sabalenka | 2-6, 3-6 (L) |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Coco Gauff | 6-3, 6-0 (W) |
| Elisabetta Cocciaretto | 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 (W) |
| Aryna Sabalenka | 6-4, 4-6, 4-6 (L) |
| Cristina Bucsa | 6-1, 6-2 (W) |
| Daria Kasatkina | 6-1, 6-1 (W) |
1-1. In order to make up for her defeat at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara a few months earlier, Maria Sakkari defeated her most recent opponent in three sets in the semifinal of Indian Wells last year. Paula Badosa has now recorded two victories over top-10 competitors during this clay swing after losing her first three encounters with them in 2023.
Maria Sakkari vs Paula Badosa will take place in the round of 16 of the 2023 WTA Madrid Open on May 1.
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