Badosa quickly makes 0-30 while, in comms, Marion Bartoli discusses the excellence and consistency of her ball-toss. Back on court, though, Wang quickly levels the game, only to stray long on the forehand when up game point. I think this is our first deuce of the set after loads in the first, and Badosa makes the most of it, making advantage and unleashing yet another forehand winner to secure her break! At 6-1 3-2 she’s nearly in the quarters
Up 40-0, Badosa unleashes a double, but quickly closes out. She leads 6-1 2-2.
The games are going faster now, Wang holding comfortably to trail 1-6 2-1, while Rublev and Dimitrov will soon be out on Ashe.
Wang makes 15-30 but yet again, Badosa finds a big first serve when she needs one, backs it up with an ace, and quickly secures her hold.
Poor old Wang. A stunning winner down the line – so far, her forehand has been the difference – gives Badosa 0-15, but Wang finds one of her own to level the game. A double, though, amps up the pressure … and Wang responds well, securing a crucial hold. Badosa leads 6-1 0-1.
The roof on Armstrong is closed and now we know why: it’s drizzling so play on outside courts has been suspended.
Badosa opens with an ace, then a terrific forehand into the corner is too good. And from there, she closes out a 6-1 set, which doesn’t reflect the balance of play but illustrates just how important the extra power and is.
A love-hold for Wang, forcing Badosa to serve for the first srt at 5-1.
I’m really enjoying this Badosa performance. Again, Wang makes it tight, reaching 30-all, and again a big but controlled forehand releases pressure. But a double takes us to deuce, again, then a winner and an ace make 5-0 and Wang is in big trouble, playing more or less as well as she can and getting nowhere.
So far Wang’s played fairly well with no reward, Badosa’s heavy artillery taking from her her opportunities. And shonuff she nails another at 30-all then quickly converts for the double-break and Wang os somehow both competing and not competing. Badosa 4-0 Wang
Badosa has played the big points well so far, down 30-40 and unleashing an inside-out forehand winner – though Wang will be disappointed with the return that made it happen. Another, this time down the line, brings Badosa advantage, and from there she seals her consolidation to lead 3-0.
Badosa makes 0-15 then drags a forehand wide; Wang reinforces with an ace out wide, then raises two game points with a forehand schlepped into the net. Badosa, though, saves one then clobbers a forehand winner on the leap and she’s relaxing into this, you sense. And again, we wind up at deuce, Badosa cleverly working a chance to punish a further forehand winner for advantage. But then she nets one, meaning another deuce, another Badosa forehand, into the forehand corner, yanking her another break point … and a booming rendition of the same, almost a table-tennis shot from half-court, means she leads 2-0. Wang is doing alright – well, even – but as we said at the top, if Badosa keeps the head, I’m not sure how she can be beaten here.
At 15-all, Wang whams an inside-out forehand winner – that’ll get her going – then, at the end of the longest rally of the match so far, Badosa nets one of her own, handing over two break points. The first is confiscated via service winner, the second when a moon ball drops long. But it’s soon advantage Wang, the long game allowing both players to settle, and a forehand winner from Badosa restores deuce. And from there, it looks like the game is secures, a big serve-forehand combo on advantage looking definitive … but a terrific forehand winner from the corner when no such thing looked possible means another deuce. And, though Badosa must then save yet another break point, she eventually secures a nine-minute hold which, though it suggests a close contest, also makes clear where the power advantage lies. Badosa leads 1-0.
Badosa to serve, and …play.
Badosa and Wang are on court knocking up; Wang looks nervous.
Like Navarro, Badosa is an NYC native – though she didn’t stay there – and also feels a strong sense of belonging when she competes in this competition. She’ll feel she can win this thing too – worse players than her have – however impregnable Sabalenka seems.
Every time I see Martina on the screen it gives me a little surge of joy. Stay well, champ.
Badosa, remember, has had back problems so severe she was told she might never play again, and also struggled with depression. Seeing her give the ball such joyful thumps is inspiring and energising to see, and if she can hold it down, I don’t see how Wang can beat her.
A little Badosa background…
Yo dudes and welcome to the US Open 2024 – day seven!
We’re there aren’t we? After a first week of ludicrous action all over the show, we’re down – or up – to ludicrous action on the show courts, and there’s plenty of it.
We open on Armstrong with the heartwarming resurgence of Paula Badosa, rehabilitated and imposing her brave power-hitting in invigorating style. Chances are she has too much for Yafan Wang, but it doesn’t take much for game as big as hers to go haywire under pressure – and there’s plenty of that here.
On Ashe, meanwhile, we begin with a potential belter. Andrey Rublev wants it so badly you can feel it across the Atlantic, but he hasn’t quite found what it takes to beat a better player when it really matters. And though Griggzy Dimitrov isn’t that, he is a canny and classy operator who’s improved with age and, given the players who’ve gone out, he’ll be wondering if he might just force something he thought had passed him by.
Otherwise, we’ve got ourselves an enticing slugfest between Casper Ruud and the surging Taylor Fritz, while Brandon Nakashima, also in the form of his life, tries to upset Alexander Zverev.
And the day sesh closes on Ashe with a potentially nasty ruckus for the champ. Coco Gauff isn’t playing quite as well as she was this time last year, whereas Emma Navarro has never played better. At 23 the sense is that she’s hitting her stride, all her best Grand Slam performances coming in 2024. At Wimbledon, she couldn’t handle the situation when things got intense, beating Gauff handily before taking a last-eight hiding off Jasmine Paolini. But a New York, New York local, she’s much happier on the hard than the grass, so don’t be surprised if she does something special today – again.
Play: 11am local, 4pm BST
