‘Thought it Was a Joke’: Paula Badosa on Facing Victoria Azarenka at Adelaide International

2021 turned out to be quite phenomenal for the Spaniard Paula Badosa. She won her maiden WTA title at the Serbia Open, after the opponent’s walkover. Subsequently, Badosa thrashed two-time Grand Slam winner, Victoria Azarenka to lift her first WTA 1000 titles at Indian Wells.

Right after the game, the two discussed a rematch, and surprisingly, they are meeting in Adelaide for their first encounter of 2022. Despite a 1-0 head-to-head edge, Badosa expressed her nervousness about playing the former World No. 1 before the highly anticipated match.

Paula Badosa is a bit nervous about facing Victoria Azarenka

Paula Badosa has surely entered 2022 with much optimism after having a glorious last season. Just about two months ago, Badosa overcame two-time Grand Slam holder, Victoria Azarenka to triumph at her maiden WTA 1000 title. However, after the match, the two players went to Twitter and joked about a rematch.

The joke certainly turned into reality as Badosa will lock horns against Azarenka at Adelaide Internation for their first match of the year. The Spaniard discussed the moment she got the knowledge of facing Azarenka.

Badosa stated, ” To be honest, when I saw it yesterday, I thought it was a joke. I was watching the draw for 10 minutes. I didn’t talk to anyone, I was just staring at it. I was like, ‘OK, Paula, it’s not going to change even if you sit here for one hour, so stop watching it.'”

Regardless of the fact that Badosa leads the head-to-head series 1-0, she is concerned about facing the former World No. 1. The match would undoubtedly be an exciting one to witness, given their previous meeting.

Badosa vs Azarenka at Indian Wells

For the first time in their professional career, Paula Badosa of Spain played against Victoria Azarenka in the finals of Indian Wells. Both the players defeated some fine players to make their way to the last match of the competition.

Badosa took the first set in an edgy tie-breaker. Soon after, the two-time Grand Slam champion fought back and won the second set 6-2. The deciding set witnessed a tie-breaker as well. However, Badosa looked in total control of it as she won it by a huge margin of 7-2, with the final score registered as 7-6(7-5), 6-2, 7-6(7-2).

Now, it’ll be intriguing to see whether Azarenka takes revenge in Adelaide. Nevertheless, tennis fans are excited to see the epic clash between two champions.

ALSO READ: “Super High Level”: Victoria Azarenka Reasons Out Her Loss Against Paula Badosa at Indian Wells Final 2021