For a while in the second and third sets of the Iasi Open second-round match between Paula Badosa and Alevtina Ibragimova, the best thing that Badosa's opponent could do was keep the ball in play. This wasn't because the Spaniard was dominating the Russian, however.
Instead, Badosa kept making error after error, allowing Ibragimova to move ahead in the match simply by not losing games. Badosa was temporarily incapable of winning any, even after taking the opening set in a tie-break at 7-5.
The Spaniard couldn't land her serve consistently, losing the second set 1-6, and she rarely hit any winners. Ibragimova, a qualifier at the WTA 250 event who is currently ranked No. 270 and in her first tour-level main draw, didn't need to try to do too much. In fact, it was how little she needed to try to do that was giving her a chance of stunning the more accomplished player.
Paula Badosa found a way at the Iasi Open when almost nothing was going right
Badosa was hoping the tournament would further be a boon to an otherwise miserable year. She won the Nordea Open last week after getting bounced out of Wimbledon in her opening match. Between the round of 16 at the Charleston Open in March and the round of 32 at the Libema Open in June, the former No. 2 had lost five straight matches.
Her confidence was certainly not going to be helped by losing to a 21-year-old who had not yet achieved anything on tour. Badosa did suffer a bit of a leg issue in her first match at the Iasi Open, but she was moving well enough. She simply couldn't land most of her shots.
The third and final set began more brutally for the Spaniard, but not because she was being swept off the court. The problem was that she was coming achingly close to winning each game, but losing almost all of them. She was down 1-4, and likely frustrated, though she mostly kept playing with poise. Maybe the match was just one of the bad days that almost all players have.
Statistically, Ibragimova had no business coming close to winning the match. She faced 29 break points and fought off 22 of them. She had two more double faults (six) than aces. She wasn't playing well enough to win the match, but Badosa was playing worse until late in the third set.
And yet, Paula Badosa stayed alive. Against almost any other player, she would have already been in the locker room after a loss. Instead, she had an uptick in form and got back to 4-all in set three.
By the end of the third set, Badosa had completed a full turnaround. She was beginning to play well again, and that would turn a 1-4 set into a 6-4 victory. The match was ugly, but the Spaniard will take the win.
Paula Badosa will next face the winner of the Panna Udvardy and Katarzyna Kawa match in the quarterfinals. Though not seeded, Badosa should be the favorite.
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