Paula Badosa was able to outlast Daria Kasatkina 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-4 in an intense third-round match at Wimbledon. The former world No. 2 is now into the fourth round at the All England Club for the third time in her career. And I think she’s on the verge of producing a career-best result at this event.
Badosa will take on Donna Vekic for a spot in the quarterfinals. And while Vekic is a proven grass-court performer, it’s hard to pass on a healthy Badosa at a short number.
It has been quite some time since Badosa has been able to play without pain, and her status for this tournament was in question recently. However, Badosa has had some good injury luck to this point in the tournament, and there is nothing about her performances that suggests she’s ailing. In fact, she has looked an awful lot like her former Top 5 self, as she’s absolutely hammering the ball from the baseline and moving quite well. At her peak, Badosa was one of the cleanest ball-strikers in the women’s game. With her looking like that again, how can you rule out another win on these courts?
