"It's a dream come true" - Badosa after securing No. 2 in Rankings

Spain's Paula Badosa will rise to a career-high No.2 after the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix thanks to reaching the semifinals.

Paula Badosa has been chasing the World No.2 ranking for weeks but on Friday at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, she finally came through. By defeating Ons Jabeur to advance to the semifinals, the 24-year-old Spaniard will overtake Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova as the No.2 player Monday when the latest rankings are released.

She celebrated the feat by drawing a heart and the number two on the center court clay:

"I was aware [I was close] for weeks, I'm not going to lie. In Charleston, I needed one more match: nothing. In Miami, one more match: I had to retire. It was a goal and I really wanted to be in that position. For me, it's a dream come true so I was really going after it. So I'm really happy that today I could do it and I could leave that mental block out of it from the match and I could play pretty well. I think I played a high-level match."

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Badosa also talked about how she understands that amount of pressure Swiatek had faced last year saying:

"But at the beginning of this year I was talking to my coach and I said I totally understand now what she's feeling. Because at the beginning I didn't know what was happening. This happens to me now. I wanted to cry in the third set today. There's so much pressure on you and at the end of the day, you're all alone on the court. It's a very mental game. But I'm happy I'm getting through it."

She will face Aryna Sabalenka for a place in the final and the duo had played the doubles in the last couple of events before this one. Playing her partner means:

"When you see her play with that serve and forehand and backhand, do I think it's going to make it easier because we're friends? My answer is no. With Ons, the drop shots were going very good for her today and I'm her friend. We're competitive. In that moment, we have no friends. She pushes you to the limit and if you don't have a good day you don't have chances."