Paula Badosa too much for Karolina Muchova after three hours on Rome’s Pietrangeli Court

WATCH: Badosa has rounded into form in Rome, scoring back-to-back wins over Ons Jabeur and Marta Kostyuk before facing Muchova.

There is often an enchanted energy ascribed to the sunken Pietrangeli Court nestled in the heart of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, and so it is only fitting that it be the stage on which Paula Badosa cement her fairytale resurgence with a 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-2 win over Karolina Muchova.

Badosa broke to open the final set and never looked back, nabbing an insurance break and securing victory over the 2021 Australian Open semifinalist with a backhand winner after three hours and four minutes.

The former world No. 2 hasn’t been to a WTA 1000 quarterfinal in over a year, not long after reaching that longed-for career-high ranking for which she arguably sacrificed her 2022 season. A heavy spring schedule with an eye on challenging for the tour’s spot in the wake of Ashleigh Barty’s shock retirement seemingly caused the Spaniard to burn out and struggle with injuries and consistency for much of the subsequent 12 months.

Further health struggles threatened to derail her start to 2023 when she was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open, but after taking Indian Wells winner Elena Rybakina to the brink of defeat in Miami, Badosa has looked stronger with each passing week, pushing Aryna Sabalenka to three sets in Stuttgart and dropping a 6-0 set on Coco Gauff in Madrid.

Badosa was playing well, but needed a good draw, one that kept her away from the likes of Rybakina and Sabalenka in the opening rounds. She got one such draw in Rome when she landed in the same section as No. 4 seed Ons Jabeur, who was returning from an injury that prevented her from mounting a Mutua Madrid Open title defense.

Defeating the Tunisian in straight sets, she continued her momentum with another upset of No. 32 seed Marta Kostyuk to book a meeting with Muchova, who herself has dealt with numerous setbacks since reaching her career pinnacle in 2021.

Back to her aggressive best, Badosa broke the Czech seven times in three sets and struck 36 winners to 38 unforced errors, completing a last-eight line-up after rain kept her from taking the court on Monday.

Awaiting her in the quarterfinals is No. 20 seed Jelena Ostapenko, whom Badosa beat en route to her breakthrough fourth round appearance at Roland Garros in 2020. A former French Open champion, Ostapenko is in the midst of an impressive event of her own, scoring back-to-back wins over Barbora Krejcikova and Daria Kasatkina to reach her third quarterfinal in Rome.

Who will have enough magic to left to reach the semifinals?