In a match between players who were both Top 10 seeds at the tournament a year ago, Paula Badosa defeated Ons Jaber 6-1, 6-4 on Friday in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.
In 70 minutes, Badosa extended her head-to-head lead against Jabeur to 4-1. The Tunisian was playing her first match since April 22, when she retired from her semifinal match against Iga Swiatek at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix with a calf injury.
How the match was won: Badosa was quick off the mark against Jabeur, as she won the first five games and wrapped up the win by taking five of the last six from 3-1 down in the second set.
"I'm really happy, to be honest," Badosa said afterward. "I think I started very, very well the first set. The second said she played a little bit better. I stayed in the tough moments. I played quite well and I'm really happy about the level."
Up next: Badosa will next face No.32 seed Marta Kostyuk, who was a 6-0, 6-4 winner over American Claire Liu. Badosa has beaten Kostyuk in both of their previous meetings, including a classic three-setter in the third round of the Australian Open.
"She's playing very well, but it doesn't surprise me," Badosa said. "I always said that she has an amazing potential and for sure and some point of her career she's going to be in the very top. I really like her style of game. I think we play quite similar. So I expect the battle there."
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