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Badosa made the quarterfinals at Foro Italico
last year, but soon a back injury forced her to miss the second
half of 2023. She hasn't been past the Round of 16 in any event
since her return in January.
On Tuesday, Badosa saved 5 of 7 break points while converting 5
of 11 chances to break Andreeva's serve. Badosa won in 94
minutes but came away impressed with the up-and-coming Andreeva
in her tournament debut.
"She's a very good player, amazing future," Badosa told the
Tennis Channel. "I loved how competitive she is. I think she has
a very, very bright future ahead."
Badosa, currently No. 126 in the world rankings, will face
American 21st seed Emma Navarro in the second round as she
continues her grueling comeback that has tested her physically
and emotionally.
"I think my body wasn't capable of playing a lot of time, so I
was getting quite stressed," Badosa said. "And also I think
mentally it affected me in my self-confidence, the injuries. So
I've been working on these two things a lot lately."
Andreeva's Russian counterpart Diana Shnaider fared better,
defeating Belgium's Greet Minnen 6-2, 6-3. Now 20, Shnaider won
WTA 250 events in China and Thailand while still a 19-year-old
and is making her Italian Open debut.
Only two matches went three sets on Tuesday. Colombia's Camila
Osorio rallied to beat Dutch opponent Arantxa Rus 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
in 2 1/2 hours. In an all-Chinese matchup, Xinyu Wang defeated
Yue Yuan 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Shelby Rogers needed just 61 minutes to sweep Italy's Lisa
Pigato 6-1, 6-0, and Germany's Angelique Kerber had an easy 62
minutes, taking care of Lauren Davis by the same score.
Lucrezia Stefanini won a battle of Italians against Vittoria
Paganetti, prevailing 7-5, 6-3. Stefanini went 7-for-8 in
breaking Paganetti's serve and capitalized on her opponent's six
double faults.
Poland's Magdalena Frech defeated Ashlyn Krueger 7-6 (2), 6-3;
Romania's Ana Bogdan eliminated Canada's Leylah Fernandez 6-4,
6-1; and Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan beat Italian Martina
Trevisan 6-3, 6-4.
--Field Level Media [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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