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Paula Badosa reaches quarterfinals of US Open
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Paula Badosa, the 26th seed, dispatched Yafan Wang of China 6-1, 6-2 on Sunday to advance to her second career Grand Slam quarterfinal at the U.S. Open in New York.

The Spain product and former top-five player went 8-for-8 in saving break points and 4-for-5 in converting break points to prevail in one hour, 22 minutes at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

It was a remarkable turn of events for Badosa, who despite being just 26 years old has contemplated retirement due to pain from a stress fracture of her back.

Instead, Badosa now awaits the winner of Coco Guaff and Emma Navarro with a chance to compete for her first Grand Slam title creeping ever closer.

"A few months ago, I was thinking to quit this sport because I stopped believing in myself and my injury wasn't responding," said Badosa, who reached the quarterfinals at the 2021 French Open. "So to be back (at this level) is a dream come true.

"For me, with all respect, tennis doesn't make sense if I'm not on the top. I want to play big stages. I want to play the last rounds of every tournament. I want to be one of the best players in the world."

Yang fell behind 5-0 and never threatened in the first set, but she leveraged 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the second set before eventually succumbing. Down 3-2 in the sixth game with a chance to tie things up again, Yang battled through seven exchanges until Badosa won the game, and eventually the match.

Badosa was also perfect (8-for-8) on service games won in becoming the first Spanish woman to reach the U.S. Open quarters since Carla Suarez Navarro in 2018.

This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.

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Tennessee's groundbreaking Adidas deal a game-changer for college sports in NIL era
College Football

Tennessee's groundbreaking Adidas deal a game-changer for college sports in NIL era

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Max Johnson reacts to Bill Belichick going to transfer portal for new QB
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Max Johnson reacts to Bill Belichick going to transfer portal for new QB

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MLB

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