By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, August 5, 2022
Paula Badosa exploited a fistful of double faults, roaring back to beat Coco Gauff 7-6(4), 6-2 and advance to the San Jose semifinals.
Photo credit: Getty
A San Jose shotmaker's duel took a trip to the lost and found tonight.
Coco Gauff lost control of her second serve and Paula Badosa found her drive down the line to turn the match around.
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Down 3-5, Badosa exploited a fistful of double faults, roaring back to beat Gauff 7-6(4), 6-2 and advance to the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic semifinals.
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Playing her first quarterfinal since April, Badosa broke serve four times to reach her fourth semifinal of the season.
Continuing her hunt for a fourth career title, Badosa will play 2021 San Jose finalist Daria Kasatkina for a spot in Sunday's final.
Contesting her fifth quarterfinal in her last six tournaments, Kasatkina cruised through eight games in a row defeating Aryna Sabalenka 4-6, 7-5, 6-0.
A day after Gauff played dynamic tennis topping four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka she picked right up where she left off controlling play at the outset, but betrayed her cause with six double faults.
Playing off her front foot, Gauff opened the court with angle and finished down the line holding for 4-2.
Serving for the set at 5-4, Gauff imploded. The world No. 11 spit up three double faults in a horrid game including sailing a double fault to gift the break.
Shaking off her sloppiest game of the match, Gauff zapped an ace to force the tiebreaker.
Finding her range and rhythm, Badosa was hitting her forehand with more ambition that the American in the breaker. ff ace 1-1. Badosa bolted an 84 mph forehand winner down line followed by a second straight forehand down the line winner for 3-2.
A brilliant Badosa running backhand pass down the line put her ahead 4-3. Gauff committed consecutive double faults—her fifth and sixth of the set—to end the tiebreaker with a whimper after 57 minutes.
Pressed to 30-all in the fourth game, Badosa banged her first two aces of the match in succession holding for 3-1.
Lacking the racquet-head acceleration she showed building that first-set lead, Gauff looked rattled and struggled to hit her spots. The Spaniard scored her fourth break of the match to go up a double break at 4-1.
Serving for the semifinals, Badosa stood tall through a long rally gaining match point on a Gauff forehand error. Challenging the American's forehand return, Badosa jammed a serve into the hip to close in one hour, 26 minutes.
Veronika Kudermetova cracked six aces stopping Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur 7-6(5), 6-2. The ninth-seeded Kudermetova will play Shelby Rogers in the semifinals. Rogers swept Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 6-4.