Badosa: “If Aryna plays like that, you can give her the trophy”

Paula Badosa admitted she was thoroughly outplayed by Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Thursday and said it will take something extraordinary to stop the Belarusian from winning a third straight title at Melbourne Park.

The Spaniard led 2-0 and had a point for 3-0 before Sabalenka turned on the style on a cool, windy night and Badosa had no doubt where the trophy is heading again this year.

“I was playing good. The first set was really tight, a good level,” she said. “Then in the second set she started to be very, very aggressive. Everything was working. Everything she was doing today, touching today, could become gold.

“I have nothing to say. I mean, of course credits to her, congratulations to her. She played the best match not even of the week. From the last months, for sure. If she plays like this, I mean, we can already give her the trophy.”

“It was unfair she played this level today”

Sabalenka congratulated Badosa – her best friend on Tour – soon afterwards – and Badosa joked that she’d told the world No 1 “it was really unfair for me that she played this level today”. “I was expecting, of course, a good level, but maybe not that much,” she said.

“But no, she came to say that she played three semi-finals before she won a (Grand Slam) title. She was very proud of my improvement lately, especially with all I’ve been through.

“So, yeah, we were just joking around. I’m really happy that, look, if I have to lose against somebody, of course I want to lose against world No 1 and against Aryna, and I wish her the best.”

Despite the loss, Badosa said she was proud of her performance both in Melbourne, where she reached her first slam semi-final, but also in the past year, climbing from No 140 after a serious back injury to a place in the world’s top 10 when the rankings are updated on Monday.

“For me, it’s an insane improvement”

“It’s really, really positive,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting maybe improving or going so fast. I didn’t check, but seeing the results of everyone, now I know I’m top 10, but I think the last months maybe it’s top 5 of the players that have win most matches.

“So for me that’s insane, and it’s an insane improvement, an insane improvement mentally, of believing, of coming back from that.

“I mean, I was once top 10, but doing it two times I think not a lot of people are capable of that. I’m really proud of myself because it’s not easy when you’re 100 in the world and you have to face these kind of players, but in the first round. Coming back from that, I’m really, really proud of the journey.”

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