Stuttgart quarterfinals: Badosa defeats Jabeur

Paula Badosa of Spain will set a new career-high in the Hologic WTA Tour rankings next week after she defeated Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.  

Badosa will move to World No. 2. She had to work hard to break new ground.

Badosa and Jabeur went the distance for the third match in four career encounters, but it was the second-seeded Spaniard who prevailed in a 2 hour, 11-minute triumph, 7-6(9), 1-6, 6-3, to advance to her third semifinal of the year.

Set one swing:

The match was decided in the first set, which lasted 67 minutes. Before the tiebreak, both players held early leads—Badosa was up 2-0 and Jabeur was up 5-3—and both had set points.

At 6-5 and 8-7, Badosa denied Jabeur the set, and she converted on her third chance.

Turning Point:

Badosa won just six points in the opening five games of the second set, and Jabeur’s momentum was stifled to begin the final.

At 1-1, the Spaniard saved three break chances, and from 2-2, an eight-point swing in her favor gave her a lead she would never relinquish.

Despite a comeback by Jabeur in the seventh game, Badosa denied her two chances to tie the match at 4-4 before winning the final two games.