'Only human': Ash Barty stunned by Australian Open villain
Spaniard Paula Badosa has won the biggest match of her career after upsetting in-form World No.1 Ash Barty at the Charleston Open.
Badosa, who drew the ire of the Aussie public due to her complaints in quarantine at the beginning of the year, played two flawless sets of tennis to snap Barty's eight-match winning streak.
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The Miami Open champion couldn't out-rally the Spaniard losing 6-4, 6-3 after making 24 unforced errors throughout the two sets.
Prior to her win over Belinda Bencic in the Charleston First Round, Badosa had never defeated a Top 20 opponent.
Her stunning upset win over Barty marks the biggest victory of her career.
Fans couldn't believe the upset, but praised Barty for taking the defeat graciously.
Biggest win of her career 🤩@paulabadosa defeats the World No.1 Barty in straight-sets, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the semifinals!#VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/B40zMPpwBC
— wta (@WTA) April 9, 2021
@ashbarty is only human after all. When was the last time NONE of the top TEN seeds have made it through to semis. Goes to show that it’s one tough bunch of players. Onward and upward Ash. 😀🎾🇦🇺
— Les Egan (@selnage1960) April 10, 2021
"Prior to Badosa’s second-round win over Bencic, she had never beaten a Top 20 player."
Now she's a set from taking out World No.1 Ash Barty at @VolvoCarOpen
Badosa leads, 6-4, 2-2 👀— Tennis Majors (@Tennis_Majors) April 9, 2021
Biggest win of her career 🤩@paulabadosa defeats the World No.1 Barty in straight-sets, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the semifinals!#VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/B40zMPpwBC
— wta (@WTA) April 9, 2021
6-4, 6-3 @paulabadosa outslugs an in form world #1, @ashbarty
Tremendous clutch serving in this match, 12/14 break points saved, 4/8 Barty break points taken.#clutch— Mick Limerick (@Mick_Limerick) April 9, 2021
Simply Stunning 💪🇪🇸@paulabadosa plays two flawless sets of tennis, knocking out the World No. 1 Ash Barty 6-4 6-3!
She will face Stephens or Kudermetova in the semifinals...#VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/4fKMfW8L3D— Volvo Car Open (@VolvoCarOpen) April 9, 2021
Badosa's controversial Aussie stay
The Spanish star was one of the few players to cause an uproar during her quarantine stay ahead of the Australian Open.
The World No.67 was the first player to test positive for coronavirus upon arriving in Australia ahead of the tournament.
She was part of the 72 players placed in hard lockdown and claimed the accomodation she's been afforded and the facilities at her disposal were sub-standard.
The 23-year-old said she had suffered from anxiety and claustrophobia, and has been using water bottles as weights to try to stay in shape.
"I feel abandoned because I don't have training equipment which I requested five days ago," she told Spanish newspaper Marca on Monday.
"I haven't been told which type of the virus I have, I've had no information from the tournament."
Badosa then defended her complaints after being bundled out of the Australian Open in the First Round.
The Spaniard claimed she wouldn't compete in another Grand Slam if she had to quarantine for 14 days.
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