'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAUACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABhAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAcQAAIBAwQDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwAEBRETFTESIVEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQFEQACAgIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMhABEEBbL/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AMXfjb+yxGNnxdpKJ1fIW07hmkhMUht9t/YWRSXDk6A6rUV3j8hJdTvyDDylc9SHs/dylKV1BKoyrQv0cuciFJWVm3sxoSQxGyVF1n//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Paula Badosa was happy to see Barbora Krejcikova enter the final of the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships with a hard-fought win over world No. 3 Jessica Pegula in Friday's semifinals.
Pegula stretched Krejcikova to three sets, but the former French Open champion bageled her opponent in the decider, winning 6-1, 5-7, 6-0. Reacting to her victory, Krejcikova expressed gratitude and also vowed to give her all in Saturday's final against dominant world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
"Finals it is —> one more match to go tomorrow! Will give my best fight! Thank you very much for the support today! It is giving me an extra push forward. Hope to see you and hear you all again!" Barbora Krejcikova wrote on Instagram.
Reacting to the same, Paula Badosa expressed her happiness at Krejcikova's success with a bunch of emojis.
The Czech star will look to complete the top-3 set in Saturday's final against Swiatek, having beaten world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and world No. 3 Pegula in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. Krejcikova is one of only four players to have beaten Swiatek since the start of the 2022 US Open back in September.
Meanwhile, Badosa, who resides in Dubai, lost 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 4-6 in the opening round of the Dubai Tennis Championships to 14th seed Liudmila Samsonova.
Paula Badosa has had a topsy-turvy start to 2023 season
Paula Badosa has had a challenging first couple of months of the 2023 season, despite already having reached a semi-final on tour this year. Badosa's season did not get off to the best of starts at the United Cup, but the Spanish star bounced back with a run to the semifinals of the Adelaide International 2 shortly before the Australian Open. However, she suffered an injury in Adelaide that forced her to withdraw from the Australian Open.
She was also forced to miss the Abu Dhabi Open, before returning to action at the Qatar Open two weeks ago. Badosa lost to Beatriz Haddad Maia in the opening round in Doha before her loss to Samsonova in Dubai earlier this week.
Having won the Indian Wells Open in 2021, Badosa will aim to return to form in the California WTA 1000 event, which begins on March 6th. Currently ranked at No. 19 in the WTA rankings, Badosa achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 2 in April last year by replacing Krejcikova herself.
