Paula Badosa defeats Yafan Wang in straight sets at the US Open

New York. After a first week of huge surprises, the US Open entered the round of 16 on Sunday with a victory for Spain’s Paula Badosa, while an army of aspirants chase the throne left vacant by Novak Djokovic.

Badosa, the last Spanish player in New York after the fall of Carlos Alcaraz, opened fire sweeping Yafan Wang (80) 6-1 and 6-2 in one hour and 22 minutes of play.

The Catalan player continues to make giant strides in her recovery after her back injury and will now enjoy her second Grand Slam quarter-final, after Roland Garros in 2021.

The former world number two was relentless throughout the 88 minutes of play, saving all eight of Wang’s break point opportunities, and became the first Spaniard to make the Flushing Meadows quarter-finals since Carla Suarez in 2018.

“A few months ago I thought about quitting the sport because my body wasn’t responding and being back with the best in the world is a dream come true,” said a radiant Badosa.

Badosa’s next rival in New York, the city where she was born, could be local star Coco Gauff.

The 20-year-old reigning US Open champion faces a tough test on Sunday against fellow American Emma Navarro, who knocked her out in the round of 16 at Wimbledon.

The only precedent on hard court, however, is favourable to Gauff, who won in January on her way to the title in Auckland.

“In that Wimbledon match, I think I just mentally broke down on the court. I was so frustrated and she played well,” Gauff recalled this week.

Navarro, number 12 in the WTA, is enjoying her season of consolidation on the circuit but Gauff, who has built a stronghold in Flushing Meadows with ten consecutive victories, is already a highly reliable player in the Grand Slams.

This century, only Maria Sharapova (81) has won more matches at major tournaments than Coco Gauff (60) before turning 21.

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who was defeated by Gauff in last year’s final, will also be seeking a ticket to the quarterfinals on Sunday.

The world number two will face Belgian Elise Mertens in the last match of the night.

The other women’s round of 16 match will be a repeat of the final of the last Olympic Games in Paris between Croatia’s Donna Vekic and China’s Qinwen Zheng, who won the gold medal.

Aspiring actors

In the men’s tournament, several candidates will appear to replace Djokovic and Alcaraz, the two last champions, who were unexpectedly defeated in the first week.

Two Americans, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz, will try to continue to excite the New York fans, who have not celebrated the triumph of a local male player since Andy Roddick in 2003.

Tiafoe will face Australian Alexei Popyrin, Alcaraz’s executioner, and Fritz will face Norwegian Casper Ruud, runner-up in 2022.

Another former finalist, German Alexander Zverev, will be put to the test by American Brandon Nakashima after battling until 2:35 a.m. in his previous match against Argentine Tomas Etcheverry, the second most nocturnal match in the history of the tournament.

The other round of 16 clash on Sunday will feature Russian Andrey Rublev and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, seeded sixth and ninth respectively.

On Monday, it will be the turn of Italian Jannik Sinner, world number one, and Russian Daniil Medvedev, the only two Grand Slam champions still alive in New York.