"I am very attracted to the style she has, it goes far beyond being defensive or aggressive"- Paula Badosa on Simona Halep
In an exclusive interview with Punto de Break, World No. 8 Paula Badosa revealed that she admires Simona Halep a lot and "would love to play" against her really soon. Badosa shared that she is in complete awe of Halep's style of play and feels very "attracted" towards it.
Paula Badosa enjoyed a great season in 2021. The Spaniard won two titles on the WTA Tour, including her major Masters trophy at the 2021 Indian Wells. She also emerged victorious at the 2021 Serbia Open and finished the year with a career-high ranking of World No. 8.
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In the interview, Paula Badosa disclosed that she would really like to face Simona Halep on the court soon. She highlighted that the Romanian player has got quite a unique style of play which is "beyond" defensive and aggressive. Thus, Badosa would love to battle against her to decode her gameplay.
"I would love to play against Halep, I have admired her very much, I like her very complete style of play. I don't think we look alike playing very much but I am very attracted to the style she has, it goes far beyond being defensive or aggressive. She has both, so I would love to face her to see how she does it," said Badosa in the interview.
Two-time Grand Slam champion, Simona Halep didn't enjoy a great season in 2021. The Romanian failed to bag even a single title and dropped out of the top 10 list of WTA players. She and Badosa are yet to cross paths on the WTA tour.
DISAPPOINTING! Simona Halep on the Verge of Crashing Out of Top 10 After 8 Consecutive Years of Stay dlvr.it/S44cJ6
Paula Badosa rates her 2021 season
In the same interview, Paula Badosa opened up about her 2021 season and rated herself. She highlighted that even though she needed some improvement physically, she kept herself calm on the court and raised the bar mentally.
So, while she gave herself a 7.5-8 on the physical front, she presented herself with an 8.5 when it came to the mental aspect of her game.
"Physically I have gone up a lot, there was a lot of room for improvement, I would also wear a 7.5 or 8. But where I have improved the most is mentally, this year I think I won very hard matches," mentioned the Spaniard.
"I came out of very complicated situations, that reflects that I have taken a step forward when it comes to trusting myself. Here I would put a little more, an 8.5, the outstanding I still haven't arrived. My goal next season is to improve these grades, then the ranking will be a consequence," concluded the World No. 8 player.
Badosa revealed that her goals in the future would be to improve on both fronts.