Badosa Dominates in Her US Open Debut

Paula Badosa is experiencing her best moment in a long time. The Spanish tennis player triumphed in her debut against Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic with a resounding 6-0, 6-3 victory in just over an hour, matching her best result at the US Open, the only Grand Slam where she has never advanced past the second round.

Badosa, who has won eleven of her last thirteen matches, has seen her sacrifices pay off significantly after opting out of the Olympic Games. Her performance on the North American hardcourt tour has been excellent. She won her first title in two and a half years in Washington, felt the fatigue in Toronto but still managed to win at least one match, and reached the semifinals in Cincinnati, marking her best result in that tournament.

After a week of rest and preparation in New York, where she participated in an exhibition alongside her partner Stefanos Tsitsipas, Badosa has not lost momentum. She overwhelmed Golubic, ranked 73rd in the world, delivering a 'bagel' in the first set, losing only four points on serve and capitalizing on three of the five break points she had.

The Swiss player, a machine of errors, hasn't won a WTA circuit match outside of qualifiers since June. Although she started the second set with an advantage and broke two of Badosa's first three serves, she capitulated as soon as the Spaniard got to work. Badosa offset her 18 unforced errors with 18 winners and took advantage of Golubic's 23 mistakes. The Swiss couldn't extend the contest in the final minutes against a Badosa who now boasts eleven victories in thirteen matches over the past two months.

Her strong form has propelled her back into the top 25 players globally. At the very least, she will appear as world number 24 at the end of the US Open. With no points to defend from last year due to a stress fracture in her back that kept her out for half a year, Badosa has a significant opportunity to climb further up the rankings.

Her next opponent will be determined by the match between Martina Trevisan and Taylor Townsend. Should Badosa win against either of these players, it would mark her best career result at the US Open.

Roberto Carballés also secured his first tournament victory by defeating Jan Choinski 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-7 (5), 6-3. Roberto Bautista clearly overcame Luca Nardi with scores of 7-5, 7-6 (3), and 7-6 (5). Albert Ramos could not advance against Matteo Berrettini (7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-3), potentially playing his last Grand Slam match at age 36 as he has fallen to rank 122.