Paula Badosa survives tricky R1 in Madrid

Paula Badosa had to spend well over two hours to defeat Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the first round of the Madrid Open 6-3 4-6 6-4.

The Spaniard had some success in Madrid in the past but this one was a rather tough matchup for her. The Italian is known as a fierce competitor and she was frustrating Badosa deeply for much of this match with her spirit that never gives up. The first set went to Badosa 6-3 and it was a really good result for Badosa considering she fell behind 0-2.

She opted to be quite aggressive dominating rallies but Cocciaretto was able to find solutions to that in the second set. It was a crazy set of tennis with both players breaking the other on serve but the Italian was a bit sharper. She emerged with the lead and did well enough to hold it and capture the set.

The final one saw both players miss out on a break chance early however towards the end it was Badosa who was playing a bit better. She played a superb final game of the match to take it without dropping a point and that finished off the match. Tough win but an important one for the Spaniard.