Badosa survives Martic in marathon slugfest at Western & Southern Open

In a long, tedious match that featured several delays due to inclement weather, it was Paula Badosa who emerged victorious over Petra Martic as they finally concluded their opening round match at the Western & Southern Open.

Badosa rallied from a set down to pull off the 4-6, 6-4 7-6(9) victory, overcoming a subpar serving performance that saw her hit seven double faults. The Spaniard has had an impressive run this season, reaching the semifinals in Madrid before winning the title in Belgrade. The 23-year old followed this up with quarterfinal showings at both Roland Garros and the Tokyo Olympics.

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Nonetheless, Martic seemed to be in the driver's seat on Monday night as they battled it out in Cincinnati. After taking the first set, the Croatian star faced a more determined Badosa, who fought back to level the score and send the match to a deciding set.

Despite having been on court for almost two hours and being interrupted by rain delays, both ladies showed no lack of energy as they battled it out on Porsche Court 10. It was Martic who obtained the first match point, after breaking her opponent and serving at 5-4. However, Badosa fought back, saving multiple match points to push the set to a tiebreak. Another rain delay paused proceedings, but fortunately the players did not have to leave the court. After exchanging a pair of match points, it was Badosa who sealed her victory after two and a half hours with an overhead smash.