Badosa shuts down Gauff to reach San Jose semi
Second-seeded Spaniard Paula Badosa swept into the semi-finals of the WTA hardcourt tournament in San Jose on Friday with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 victory over rising US star Coco Gauff.
Badosa, ranked fourth in the world, twice recovered from a break down in the opening set as she booked a final-four showdown with seventh-seeded Daria Kasatkina, a 4-6, 7-5, 6-0 winner over fourth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka.
Gauff, the 18-year-old who reached her maiden Grand Slam final at the French Open this year, was coming off a lively victory over four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka on Thursday night.
The sixth-seeded American appeared to be riding the momentum from that win as she emerged from an exchange of three breaks of serve with a 3-2 lead in the opening set on the way to a 5-3 advantage.
After Badosa held serve, however, Gauff unravelled as she served for the set, firing three double faults to drop her serve as they went to tiebreaker, which Gauff surrendered with another pair of double faults.
She looked rattled as she dropped her opening service game of the second set, Badosa racing to a 5-1 lead and serving out the match with confidence two games later.
"It's never easy to start against such an aggressive player with a big serve," Badosa said. "I think I adapted pretty well in the (end) of the first set, and I played a pretty perfect tiebreak, so I'm really happy about that."
The Spaniard finished with 17 winners to 15 unforced errors, converting half of her eight break chances as Gauff's 29 unforced errors outpaced her 21 winners.
Badosa, who reached her fourth semi-final of 2022, will be taking on Kasatkina for the third time, with both prior meetings coming earlier this year.
Badosa beat Kasatkina in straight sets in Sydney in January, but Kasatkina triumphed in straight sets in the clay court tournament in Rome.
"She's winning a lot of matches, she's winning against the best players in the world, she's doing an amazing year," Badosa said.
Ninth-seeded Veronika Kudermetova maintained her perfect record against Tunisian Ons Jabeur, topping the third-seeded Wimbledon runner-up 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.
Kudermetova has won all three of her meetings against Jabeur in straight sets.
In their latest meeting, Kudermetova's 30 winners were almost double to fifth-ranked Jabeur's 17. That included half a dozen aces.
Kudermetova will face Shelby Rogers, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over fellow American Amanda Anisimova.
Rogers, ranked 45th in the world, toppled world No. 3 Maria Sakkari, the top seed, in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals.
Rogers, who opened the tournament with a win over former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, has yet to be broken this week and improved to 3-0 against Anisimova.
-
Revolutionary gridPetrol prices pumped up in PyongyangUN chief calls for diplomatic solution in meeting with N. Korean top diplomatKorean college plans to install genderApple iPod: The First 10 Years of the Ubiquitous Media Player荥经县招商引资到位资金6.86亿元4月份PPI同比下跌2.03%Pete Souza throws straight fire at Putin ahead of meeting with TrumpWhich is Faster for Gaming, Windows 10 or Windows 11?NK earthquake not nuclear test: seismology officials
- ·The Wonderful World of Christmas Trees
- ·Meet Carrie Bradshaw's biggest critic
- ·Sinner survives scare to advance in Miami
- ·NK earthquake not nuclear test: seismology officials
- ·2016's $400 GPU vs. 2019's $400 GPUs
- ·Berrettini reaches first ATP final since 2022
- ·Ferrari flair to Mercedes despair: Australian GP talking points
- ·Tiger Woods set to play Masters despite injuries
- ·Pixel 9 Pro XL hands
- ·McIlroy rings changes in quest for elusive Masters win
- ·[Breaking] NK foreign minister to hold press conference at 11 p.m.
- ·France seeks to end the sale of gas and diesel
- ·Smiley face on Mars is a telltale sign of its past
- ·There are billions of grains of revenge in this anti
- ·Rybakina roars back to end Azarenka's Miami dream
- ·Raphinha helps Barca past 10
- ·'Hyundai Way': Auto giant's W121tr plan aims to seize mobility market lead
- ·Samsung Galaxy Watch 6: Specs, release date, price, preorder details
- ·雨城地税五举措深入创建学习型党组织
- ·Kesha pens emotional Lenny Letter and fights back with an honest new single
- ·10 Places to Get to Know Paul Bunyan
- ·Bored Ape NFT investors sue Yuga Labs after NFT values crater
- ·CM announce formation of Sports Advisory body
- ·French Open in doubt for Nadal after Monte Carlo withdrawal
- ·iPhone 16 Pro new color will reportedly be Desert Titanium
- ·天热了 请别忽视爱车的“心脏”
- ·Google is bringing AI summaries to ‘Files’ so you can find your docs quicker
- ·Ferrari flair to Mercedes despair: Australian GP talking points
- ·Green hydrogen breakthrough swaps in water for iridium
- ·National Assembly approves Kim as Supreme Court chief
- ·N. Korea test
- ·Dyson hair care sale: Refurbished Corrales and Supersonics for $199.99 and a $379.99 Airwrap
- ·3 in 10 divorces happen after 20 years of marriage
- ·[From the scene] ‘Farewell ceremony’ held for two recovered Sewol victims
- ·Spate of defections show Kim Jong
- ·Dude discovers his airport selfie with Jessica Alba is displayed in a deli he's never been to