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Badosa, Jabeur Reach San Jose WTA Quarter-finals

"I'm grateful that I played at night because it's slower and it helps me a little bit with the conditions," Jabeur said. AP
"I'm grateful that I played at night because it's slower and it helps me a little bit with the conditions," Jabeur said. AP
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Badosa, Jabeur Reach San Jose WTA Quarter-finals

"I'm grateful that I played at night because it's slower and it helps me a little bit with the conditions," Jabeur said. AP
"I'm grateful that I played at night because it's slower and it helps me a little bit with the conditions," Jabeur said. AP

Second-seeded Paula Badosa survived a scare on the way to a 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5) victory over US qualifier Elizabeth Mandlik on Wednesday in the WTA hardcourt tournament in San Jose, California.

After comfortably pocketing the first set with two breaks of serve, Spain's Badosa went down an early break in the second against her 240th-ranked opponent, who is the daughter of four-time Grand Slam champion Hana Mandlikova.

She broke back, but was broken again in the 11th game to give Mandlik a chance to serve out the set and extend the match.

After breaking for a 4-3 lead in the third, Mandlik twice had a chance to serve for the set, but they traded service breaks in the final three games to send it to the tiebreaker, in which world number four Badosa won the last five points to seal the victory.

Badosa will next face the winner of Thursday night's marquee clash between four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and sixth-seeded American Coco Gauff.

Japanese superstar Osaka is unseeded as she plays her first tournament since falling in the first round of the French Open, where she was battling a left Achilles tendon injury.

Gauff, the French Open runner-up, is seeded sixth.

Third-seeded Tunisian star Ons Jabeur, playing her first match since her historic runner-up finish at Wimbledon, pulled away late to beat American Madison Keys 7-5, 6-1.

Jabeur will face either Veronika Kudermetova or Claire Liu in Friday's quarter-finals.

Jabeur got off to a strong start with an early break for a 2-0 lead before Keys surged to a 5-3 lead, AFP reported.

Jabeur responded by winning 10 of the next 11 games.

"I'm grateful that I played at night because it's slower and it helps me a little bit with the conditions," Jabeur said. "I knew it was going to be a tough match for me. I just tried to stay low and hit the ball as much as I can. Make her play another ball and in the end I was feeling much better."

American Amanda Anisimova beat Czech Karolina Pliskova for the first time in five attempts to reach the quarter-finals.

Anisimova trailed by a set and a break on the way to a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory.

Seventh-seeded Daria Kasatkina also advanced, beating American Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-0.

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Atletico Takes 11-game Winning Streak to Barcelona in Battle for La Liga Top Spot

Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Slovan Bratislava at Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Slovan Bratislava at Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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Atletico Takes 11-game Winning Streak to Barcelona in Battle for La Liga Top Spot

Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Slovan Bratislava at Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Slovan Bratislava at Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

When Atletico Madrid led the Spanish league in spending on summer transfers, Diego Simeone's club was making a bet it could challenge for its first title since 2021.

On Saturday, Atletico can move to the top of the table with a win at a Barcelona side that is struggling to reproduce its great start to the campaign. And to make matters worse for Hansi Flick, the hosts will be missing injured star Lamine Yamal for its last game before a short winter break.

Atletico has pulled level on points with Barcelona after reeling off six wins in a row in La Liga, while Barcelona has won only one of its last six league games.

Atletico midfielder Pablo Barrios expects a difficult game despite the contrasting form of the opponents.

“What is happening to them is kind of the opposite of what happened to us,” Barrios told Spanish radio Cadena SER. “When people were doubting us they were playing incredible, and even though they have lost some games now, they still have great players and I am sure it is going to a very tough game.”

Flick was earning praise from Barcelona fans and even Lionel Messi after the German’s great start when Barcelona was scoring in bunches and rolled off win after win, and it looked like the top title candidate when it crushed defending champion Real Madrid 4-0 in late October.

But that turned out to be a peak of performance from which Barcelona has subsequently fallen, The AP reported.

Barcelona has only two wins in its last eight games overall, a bad run during which it has endured humbling home defeats to Liga minnows Las Palmas and Leganes.

Atletico’s trajectory has gone the opposite direction.

Simeone’s team had some troubles early on as it worked to integrate newcomers Julián Álvarez, Conor Gallagher, Alexander Sorloth, and Robin Le Normand.

Atletico was in fourth place and 10 points behind Barcelona on Oct. 27 — the last time it lost a match.

Álvarez and Sorloth are now clicking up front with veteran leader Antoine Griezmann, and the team is on a streak of 11 victories in a row across all competitions. Griezmann has scored seven goals and Álvarez five in Atletico’s last six games. Sorloth struck to beat Getafe 1-0 last round and pull Atletico level on points with Barcelona.

Now it can take the lead of the competition with a win at Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium.

The fixture, while overshadowed by the “clasico” between Barcelona and Real Madrid, has become a must-see game in Spain ever since Simeone turned Atletico into a perennial title contender over a decade ago.

This edition of the matchup will pit Barcelona’s top-scoring attack with 50 goals against an Atletico defense that, along with Real Sociedad, has allowed a league-low 11 goals.

Yamal's ankle injury deprives Barcelona of the league's top assist maker (9).

Raphinha will likely replace Yamal on the right side of the attack to accompany Robert Lewandowski, who leads the league in scoring with 16 goals. Raphinha is the competition’s second leading scorer with 11 goals.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid will be hoping for a draw. It is in third place, one point back before hosting Sevilla on Sunday.

Both Atletico and Real Madrid have a game in hand on Barcelona.