18 months after her last competitive appearance on tour following injury and a reduced drugs suspension, former world no. 1 and two-time Major champion Simona Halep made an encouraging return to action in America’s sunshine state but predictably ran out of steam against Paula Badosa in a tricky first-round contest as one of the tournament’s marquee wildcard entries this week.
Badosa seals ‘uncomfortable’ meeting vs. friend Sabalenka
Badosa bt. Halep [WC] 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
PAULA Badosa played the spoiler role perfectly, recovering from a sluggish start to overwhelm the returning wildcard entry Simona Halep, setting up an emotional second-round encounter with best friend Aryna Sabalenka at this year’s Miami Open.
Fans warmly welcomed the two-time Major champion to action, 18 months after a surprise first-round exit at the 2022 US Open proved her last appearance for a while.
Injury initially curtailed the rest of that campaign, before it emerged in October she was provisionally suspended after testing positive for roxadustat – which stimulates the production of red blood cells – and given a four-year max punishment.
Next came an arduous process belatedly settled this month by a reduced nine-month ban from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), retroactive to August 2022 with Halep given grace as it was eventually deemed a contaminated supplement, rather than intentional performance-enhancing doping.
Everyone has their own opinion about the situation, but Badosa – back from injury – was quickly under the kosh early against a top player still finding her feet after footage of the Romanian’s hitting sessions this week had critics pointing to a loopy forehand groundstroke as evidence of rustiness.
She moved well and served decently given the circumstances, against one of few players on tour who clinically crunches rally balls and extends those exhausting baseline exchanges to wear you out, or set up winners. Whichever comes first, really.
Though as time wore on and the Spaniard steadily established a rhythm, Halep couldn’t repel the incoming danger during a tug-of-war for control.
She had a medical timeout for a shoulder complaint in set two and you could sense what was coming next, one starting to wilt while the other surged.
Halep still had a marginally higher first serve percentage (63%) but crucially coughed up ten double-faults by the finish line, as Badosa felt comfortable hitting bigger and missing by inches because scoreboard pressure wasn’t an issue.
Akin to two-and-a-half service games, those errors and an increasing amount of points where she was pinned behind the baseline didn’t bode well as the 32-year-old lacked variety and conviction to counterpunch effectively for sustained periods.
Nonetheless, it was a decent if unspectacular return against perhaps the toughest non-seeded opponent she could’ve faced and as long as she builds up match sharpness, executing in-game tactics and adjustments will be like clockwork again.
Afterwards, the 32-year-old spoke in press about how this was a special moment in her career given all she’s been through over the past 18 months.
“It feels really good. I had positive emotions to see the crowd supporting me was so nice, gave me a lot of energy and the level of tennis was pretty good, unexpected I think, for most of the people. I would say this day is going to stay very special for me, I have had many big results in the past but here is something more than tennis, something personal.
Badosa will next prepare to play one of her best friends in Aryna Sabalenka, an emotional matchup after news filtered through about the Australian Open champion’s long-time boyfriend reportedly committing suicide earlier this week.
Konstantin Koltsov, who represented Belarus at the 2002 and 2010 Olympic Games, spent three seasons with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins and the 42-year-old had been together with his younger compatriot for almost three years.
“Of course, I know what she’s going through. Yesterday I spoke with her a lot, this morning the same, it’s a little bit shocking also to go through because at the end she’s my best friend and I don’t want her to suffer.”
The pair will likely play their second-round clash on Friday lunchtime stateside, so late afternoon or early evening BST time.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via Reuters
Mo and Sports 