1 week ago
16
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Badosa is one of those players I’ve been waiting for. The first time I saw her play, I was extremely taken with her enterprise and power – I can’t remember who it was against, but she lost – and I was sure I’d see her at the business end of majors. But since then, difficulties with injury and in handling pressure have stymied her – until now. The relief of just getting back to playing seems to have given Badosa fresh perspective, and the more I think about it, the more I quite fancy her here.
First up it’s Sabalenka v Badosa, and the underdog has seen exactly how to trouble the champ because Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova showed her the other day: refuse to move from the baseline, attack the second serve, keep her moving.
If Sabalenka can’t plant her feet, it’s harder for her to get off, on top of which a fair number of her shots come down the middle; Badosa needs to redirect those not to the lines but towards the corners. And she may also benefit from trying drops because, though Sabalenka’s net-game has improved, anything that keeps her guessing is helpful.
Before we move on, good news: Henry Patten – coached by Calvin Betton, this blog’s resident expert – is, along with Harri Heliovaara, his partner – into the men’s doubles final. The Wimbledon champs beat Kevin Krawietz and Tim Putz 6-4 3-6 7-6(7) in what Calv described as “the highest-level doubles match I’ve ever watched”. Go on the GBG!
Preamble
The best tennis is defined by rivalries – your Edberg v Beckers, your Evert v Navratilovas and so on. And given that between them, they’ve won six of the last 12 grand slams, this era should be about Iga Swiatek’s battle with Aryna Sabalenka. Yet they’re still to meet in the final of one – a strangeness that might be resolved by the end of today.
Swiatek has brutalised her quarter of the draw, dropping no sets and only 14 games in her run to the semis, while Sabalenka was pushed in her last match but, as always seemed inevitable, she did what she needed to do to win; she has not lost in Melbourne since 2022.
But both face tricky challenges this evening/morning. Madison Keys has a new racket with new strings and is better able to control her colossal power-game, which makes her better able to control herself, which makes her a very serious proposition. If she’s at it, she can give Swiatek all sorts of problems (and yes, if she’s not, she’ll get battered).
Similarly, Paulo Badosa hits the ball almost as monstrously as Sabalenka. She too appears to have not only found herself but found a way to manage herself, and has never played better. If she rises to the occasion, she’s a threat.
This is going to be great.
Play: 7.30pm local, 8.30pm GMT.
