Badosa Betters Osaka in Blockbuster First Round Match

It was the first-round encounter that everyone had in their diaries and it did not disappoint. After three sets of pure entertainment, Paula Badosa now awaits either McCartney Kessler or Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

Paula Badosa Reaches Roland Garros Second Round

Osaka Edges First Set

After a tightly contested first set, Naomi Osaka came out the right side of a tiebreak. Both players held serve in the early stages, although the games were tight. It wasn’t the quality start that many anticipated, with loose errors for both and some inconsistent serving. However, as the set progressed, the level increased.

At times Osaka seemed to struggle with her footwork, a common pattern throughout her clay court career to date. Moreover, she was the more aggressive player and made more errors. You sensed a break of serve was on the way, as many of her games included long deuces.

That break of serve came at 5-5, with Badosa earning the right to serve for the set. From that point on though, the dynamic changed. Osaka’s bullish game style hit a hot streak, while Badosa’s wilted. In particular, the 27-year-old changed her return to style to play with more height rather than power. Then, she saved a set point and produced a dominant tiebreak, winning seven points to one.

Wayward Second Set for Osaka

After such a tight first set, the tide dramatically turned with Badosa winning by six games to one. The Spaniard seemed angry in the opening game, smacking balls away as she saved break point. After that though, Osaka’s form fell off a cliff.

Her aggressive style remained but there was no sense of control, it was more like a case of hit and hope. Sometimes they went out, other times they hit the net or painted the line. All in all, her ball tolerance was no more than three.

Moreover, she frustratingly pointed to her player box, which was rather interesting, almost as though questioning an instructed strategy. Either way, a third set awaited, and unless something dramatically changed, it seemed to be heading only one way.

Badosa Wins Deciding Set

Nevertheless, the momentum shifted once more. Osaka had once again found her range with an early break coming her way. Rather usurpingly, she no sooner handed back that break. The start of the third set was similar to the opening set; rash and untidy. Just like that set though, as the game wore on the quality bettered.

At three games all and 30-40 with Osaka serving, a looped lob from Badosa gave her the full left-hand side of the court to aim to. With Badosa on the other side and unable to turn back, it was an open goal of an opportunity. Regretfully, yet another unforced error left Osaka’s racket–one of 49–with her drive volley landing long. All of a sudden it was the Spaniard’s match to lose.

With a history of struggling in the tightest of matches, how would Badosa respond? Excellently, so it turned out. She dug in and served well to win the set 6-4 and book a place in the second round.

All Aggression from Osaka

Osaka has always been and always will be an attacking player, yet even allowing for that, her all-guns-blazing approach seemed a tad naïve at times. It’s not to say that she should have played a defensive pushing game, but at times there seemed no thought process behind her tennis apart from blasting the ball as hard as she could.

It inevitably led to major fluctuations in performance. At times the backhand winners were mesmerising, yet in other cases, her lack of forehand footwork cost her. How often did she fail to get to the side on the cross-court forehand and as a result hammer a ball into the tramlines?

It’s nothing new; last year’s second round loss to Iga Swiatek saw her highest level too strong for the eventual champion. Yet, a dip in form resulted in five straight games for the Pole. It would be unfair to say that this all-out flat flat-hitting attacking style can’t win on the Paris Clay. After all, Jelena Ostapenko is a champion here. However, on her eight other appearances, she hasn’t even made the second week. Four first round losses, three second round exits and one third round defeat put into perspective the difficulty of the task.

Osaka will take some solace from her highest levels though and look to apply them in the grass and hard court seasons.

Clutch From Badosa

While it’s true to say that this match was all about Osaka in the sense that it was on her racket, we cannot distract from the impressive display that Badosa put on. She described drawing a four-time Grand Slam Champion in the opening round afterward as “unfair,” and perhaps she was right. On the other hand, it leaves her incredibly match-sharp, perhaps a blessing in disguise. When she managed that 4-3 lead she never looked back. Apart from one double fault, it was incredibly solid.

She returned every ball, scavenging at the baseline, making Osaka miss when it counted most.

What Does This Mean For Badosa?

Badosa has been building up some Grand Slam momentum over the past year. A quarterfinalist in New York, and a semifinalist in Melbourne, she will fancy her chances of a similarly deep run in Paris. Moreover, deep down, she should know that she won’t face a player with the highs of Naomi Osaka, at least until a likely meeting with Mirra Andreeva in the last 16. Before that though, her draw seems manageable with Daria Kastakina the highest-ranked opponent she could face in the third round.

It’s all about belief with Badosa, the ability has always been there, but she hasn’t particularly brought that to the Grand Slam stage. As mentioned though, the former World #2 seems to have recently improved in that regard and is certainly one to keep an eye on in the coming fortnight.