Paula Badosa advances to Australian Open quarterfinals with a stunning win over Olga Danilovic

Paula Badosa ended the hopes of Serbian revelation Olga Danilovic at the Australian Open earlier on Sunday 6-1, 7-6 to equal her best performance in a Grand Slam. A tough test awaits her in the quarterfinals, the two-time defending champion and world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka.

Badosa was looking to continue her successful run at the first Grand Slam of the season against the surprising Danilovic, who took out Liudmila Samsonova in the second round (and in straight sets) and then struck the blow by eliminating the last US Open runner-up, Jessica Pegula. The current No. 55 is the reigning Guangzhou Open champion and looks on track to surpass her 2024.

The Spaniard, ranked 12th in the world, had just defeated the talented Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in a hard-fought match. Badosa pulled through the match on the strength of her unwavering fighting spirit, even though she was not sharp with her serve, one of her best weapons.

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In the first set, the DC Open champion showed her best version, annulling her rival with her serve. Badosa was relentless, hitting 63% of her first serves, winning 91% of the points played. The second serve also worked wonders, winning 71% of the points played with that shot and without giving up a single break point.

The Spaniard put pressure on her opponent and managed to break her serve twice, breaking in the second and fourth game, closing the first set in a formidable way by 6-1.

In the second set, the Serbian player reacted and got an early break to be able to play more calmly. Badosa quickly recovered the break and remained close on the scoreboard.

In the sixth game, the number 55 broke again and took a 5-2 lead, but it was not enough. Badosa's tenacity was fundamental, getting a break in the ninth game to even the score at 5-5.

From that moment on, the scoreboard remained even until the tiebreak, where the Spaniard took the lead quickly and would not look back. It was 7-2 in the tie break to get back into the quarterfinals of a major tournament.

Her opponent will be world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who is 5-2 ahead of her in the head-to-head record. Can she turn history on its head and eliminate the reigning champion in Australia?

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