WTA Indian Wells: Paula Badosa triumphs in the California desert
The winner of the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells isPaula Badosa . The Spaniard prevailed against Victoria Azarenka in a dramatic and high-class final with 7: 6 (5), 2: 6 and 7: 6 (2).
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Oct 18, 2021, 01:19 am
Paula Badosa and Victoria Azarenka do not need much start-up time in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells. Right from the start, the two protagonists played sensational tennis in the Californian desert, and the first three games took 21 minutes to complete.
It should continue in a similar key, five service games won and four breaks later, Badosa and Azarenka found themselves in a tie-break. The Spaniard quickly took a 4-0 lead, her 32-year-old opponent countered to 5: 5. The first round should ultimately go to Badosa, with a backhand winner she closed the set after 79 minutes of play.
The 23-year-old was unable to maintain this level at the beginning of the second section, Azarenka quickly took the lead with two breaks and 3-0. Badosa was able to reduce the lead of the two-time Grand Slam winner to a break in the meantime, but the second set went relatively safely to Azarenka 6-2.
Azarenka cannot serve
Badosa coped with the first set loss since their second round encounter against Dayana Yastremska and took the serve from Azarenka to make it 2-0. The Belarusian hit back immediately and even had a chance to take a 3-2 lead. Badosa blocked the breakball with a backhand shot along the line.
Despite this missed chance, Azarenka did not give up and made the supposedly decisive break with a score of 4: 4. After changing sides, the former world number one served to win, but lost a 30-0 lead and had to give up her serve.
Then Badosa made her serve safely and then prepared to end the match in the event of a setback. But Azarenka knew how to fend off this attack, and an all-important tiebreaker ultimately had to bring the decision.
In this Badosa quickly took a 5-1 lead. Azarenka tried everything again until the last rally, but after 3:06 hours of play, the Iberian was able to convert her first match point to 7: 6 (5), 2: 6 and 7: 6 (2) success.
While Azarenka missed her third title in Indian Wells, Badosa secured the biggest title of her career to date in the Californian desert and became the first Spanish winner in tournament history. As of Monday, the 23-year-old will be in eleventh place in the world rankings.
Here the single tableau in Indian Wells
iwmap