INDIAN WELLS – Paula Badosa demonstrated her mental toughness to become the Indian Wells champion in her desert debut with a hard-fought, three-set victory over two-time champ Victoria Azarenka.
The Spaniard, who had not lost a set since her first match of the WTA Tour tournament, needed three hours and four minutes to out-muscle Azarenka 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 7-6 (7/2).
Badosa won her only previous WTA final earlier this season in Belgrade but she did it via a retirement over Ana Konjuh.
This one was sweeter because Badosa got to close out the championship point on the court, hammering a forehand winner to the open side that Azarenka could only watch sail in.
Badosa celebrated the biggest win of her career by falling face first to the court with her hands covering her face while the crowd cheered.
Two-time Australian Open winner Azarenka was trying to become the first three-time WTA winner in Indian Wells.
She battled back several times, digging in after dropping the first set in a tightly-contested tiebreaker.
But the Belarussian fell behind early in the final set tiebreaker and couldn’t recover.
In the first meeting between the two players, Badosa denied the former World No.1 Azarenka in what would have been her third BNP Paribas Open title, the most of any player. Instead, it was the Spaniard who won the second WTA singles title of her season and her career.
The 3-hour, 4-minute match is this year’s longest WTA singles final. It caps off a career-best week for Badosa, who defeated four Top 20 players in a row en route to the championship match, where she beat Azarenka to improve to 2-0 in WTA singles finals.
“I think it was a really tough match,” Badosa said in press. “I think it was a really good one as well, because she played an amazing level. I think I had to rise [to a] high level every set. At the third set, I think I played my best. It was the only option if I wanted to win, so I’m really proud of it.
“The first thing that I’ve learned this week is that nothing is impossible. If you fight, if you work, after all these years, you can achieve anything. That’s the first message that I see that could happen. And to dream. Sometimes you have tough moments. In my case, I have been through tough moments. I never stopped dreaming. That’s what kept me working hard and believing until the last moment.
“I’m very happy what’s happening. I’m a little bit still in shock what happened today because winning a tournament like this, it’s always been a dream.”
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