Three years and one serious injury after making her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, Paula Badosa booked her place in her second with a 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Wang Yafan at the US Open.

US Open: Scores | Draw | Order of play

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In 2021, the Spaniard put together a breakthrough season that included her first two Hologic WTA Tour titles, in Belgrade and Indian Wells, as well as a run to the Roland Garros quarterfinals to rocket into the Top 10. The following year, she rose to a career high of No.2.

But until this summer, Badosa had not matched that Slam performance, nor won a title since Sydney in January 2022. A back injury sidelined her for the second half of 2023, and in May this year her ranking had fallen to No.140.

That month was a nadir for Badosa, she explained after saving match point to defeat Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the previous round.

"The low point for me was at the middle of the season," she said. "It was really bad. There were moments, especially after Madrid, that I didn't know what to do. In my mind I was thinking, maybe I should quit because if I'm not in the highest level, I don't want to play this sport. I don't want to be in the ranking I was in that moment. For me it doesn't make sense."

On the North American hard courts, Badosa has found her groove. She snapped her title drought in Washington, made the Cincinnati semifinals and has now won 14 out of 16 matches since Wimbledon. She becomes the first Spanish woman to reach the US Open quarterfinals since Carla Suárez Navarro in 2018.

Marathon opening tussles: The tone of the match was set over an extraordinary first three games. They lasted 22 minutes, and featured eight deuces in total. In this stretch, No.80-ranked Wang -- who had defeated Badosa 6-1, 6-3 in their only previous meeting, in the 2019 Seoul quarterfinals -- showcased her full repertoire as she attempted to foil Badosa with variety.

Wang delivered flat forehand winners, superb defense, biting slices and high, loopy resets. Badosa had the answers to all of them, though, and showed alacrity in stepping in to pummel Wang's more defensive plays. She saved four break points in the first game and one more in the third, and in between slammed a forehand winner to capture the Chinese player's serve. At the first changeover, the pair had delivered an enthralling passage of play -- but Wang sat down empty-handed.

"I thought, 'I'm going to die out here,'" Badosa recalled in the on-court interview. "She's tough, but I'm tougher. If I have to stay three hours, I will."

Clutch performance: Badosa's play was characterized by rising to the occasion on big points. Though Wang faded towards the end of the first set, she upped her aggression levels in the second, which was once again closer than the scoreline suggests. But Badosa saved all eight break points she faced over the course of the match, often finding her best serves in those moments. Conversely, she converted four out of her five opportunities on Wang's delivery.

In general, Badosa was able to stay on the front foot with impressive offensive tennis. She landed 26 winners to Wang's 16, frequently finding the corners with both wings and pulling off a series of crowd-pleasing passing shots.

American quarterfinal opponent guaranteed: Badosa may have been born in New York, but she'll have to take on the American crowd as she bids to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal. She'll face either No.3 seed and defending champion Coco Gauff, or No.13 seed Emma Navarro.

The numbers favor Badosa in both matchups. She leads Gauff 3-2, including 2-1 on hard courts -- though Gauff took their most recent encounter in this year's Rome fourth round. That result came two rounds after Badosa's only previous meeting with Navarro, a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory in the Rome second round.