“Wish I Could Be as Amazing As Her”: Paula Badosa on Comparison to Maria Sharapova

Published 05/05/2021, 2:48 PM EDT

Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa reached the semi-finals at the ongoing Mutua Madrid Open after defeating Belinda Bencic in a tight, two-setter 6-4,7-5. Being a wild-card entrant Badosa became the first Spanish woman to reach the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters.

With a heavy serve, the Spaniard is an aggressive baseliner and can find slick angles to hit winners from both the forehand and the backhand wing. Badosa came into the limelight last year at the French Open when she defeated Grand Slam champions Sloane Stephens and Jelena Ostapenko to reach the fourth round.

Her steady rise to the top continued this year with some memorable victories over Ashleigh Barty, Kristina Mladenovic, Belinda Bencic, etc.

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Paula Badosa has a tough fight ahead against Ashleigh Barty at Madrid Open

World number one Ash Barty, who lost to Bados in the quarter-finals of the WTA Charleston Open last month, will have a tough task at hand when she faces the Spaniard in the Madrid Open semis tomorrow.

As a result of her prolonged success this week, tennis fans started comparing her mannerisms on the court to former world number one, Maria Sharapova. Even her celebration after winning points during a match sounded a lot like the Russian.

Interestingly, Sharapova was the childhood idol of Paula Badosa as her dedication and work ethic inspired the Spaniard to become a tennis pro.

Responding to one of the numerous posts related to this comparison, Badosa said, “Hahaha they say it a lot. I wish I could be as amazing as her. But thanks anyway, it’s always a good comparation.”

Hahaha they say it a lot. I wish I could be as amazing as her. But thanks anyway, it’s always a good comparation. 🙂
— Paula Badosa (@paulabadosa) May 5, 2021

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The young Spaniard has a chance to create history at the Madrid Open. IF she can defeat the world number one Barty tomorrow, she will increase the chances of winning her first WTA Tour title. The experience of thrashing Barty at Charleston might help Badosa in the semis.

Also, with the Madrid Open being a fast-paced clay court like Charleston (green clay), Badosa will look to capitalize the momentum with her typical aggressive game-play tomorrow.

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Written by:

Sagar Ashtakoula is a tennis writer at EssentiallySports. He has been following the sport since 2007. Having developed an interest in creating content, he mixed his passion for writing with his love for tennis for 2 years at SportsKeeda before joining the tennis team at EssentiallySports.

“Wish I Could Be as Amazing As Her”: Paula Badosa on Comparison to Maria Sharapova

Paula Badosa has a tough fight ahead against Ashleigh Barty at Madrid Open

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