Former World No.2 Paula Badosa reached the eighth WTA 1000-level quarterfinal in her career on Tuesday at the China Open with a 6-4, 6-0 rout of No.2 seed Jessica Pegula, the US Open finalist.

Beijing: Scores | Order of Play | Draws

Having lost to Pegula three times in their first three meetings, including last month in the Cincinnati semifinals, Badosa’s 1 hour and 4-minute win in the Round of 16 was eye-popping in more ways than one. From 3-1 down in the opening set, the No.15 seed won 11 of the last 12 games — and eight in a row to finish the match. The American did not win another game after serving three consecutive aces to hold for 4-4 in the first set.

“She’s one the of the players I never want to face — she’s very solid, hits very flat, changes very well direction, so I knew it was going to be tough,” Badosa said post-match. “Yesterday I prepared myself for a battle, but I think today everything worked pretty well. 

“I was moving well, my backhand, my forehand was there today, and I fought. Every point was very important for me, especially against Jessica, because she can come back at any moment; I’m really happy for this win, honestly.”

Despite only landing 38% of her first serves in the match, Badosa won 95% of those points. With Beijing’s Diamong Court bathed in sunshine after rain earlier in the week, she struck 13 winners to Pegula’s nine — but her aggression manifested itself in other ways. She forced Pegula into 30 errors in the match, as the World No.3 struggled to keep pace in the baseline rallies after a promising start. 

Through three wins in her China Open main-draw debut — she only played qualifying once previously, in 2019 — Badosa has lost just 14 games in six sets. Other takeaways from her win include:

Badosa’s resurgent year takes another step. This time last year, Badosa was ranked outside the Top 50 and dropping quickly as she was sidelined with a back injury and questioning if she would physically be able to play tennis again.

Back in the Top 20 ahead of this tournament, Badosa is now through to her fifth Hologic WTA Tour quarterfinal in 2024, all of which have come over the last three months — and her third in her last three tournaments. But the win against Pegula is another benchmark in her comeback. She last beat a Top 5 player in 2022, when she defeated Barbora Krejcikova en route to winning the Sydney title. That was her last Top 10 win, too, on hard courts.

“It’s my first time here in the main draw, and it’s very special for me,” Badosa, who picked up her fourth Top 10 win of the season, said. “It means a lot to me, coming here in China, the end of the season, I’m playing really well.

“[Beating] a Top 10 player, I was chasing that result, so I’m really happy to be in the quarterfinals again, with another opportunity to be better in the next match.”

Badosa is the fourth Spaniard to reach the quarterfinals of the China Open after Anabel Medina Garrigues, Carla Suarez Navarro and Garbine Muguruza, who did so in 2015.