Before her third round against Petra Kvitova, No.4 seed Paula Badosa was keen to make an important distinction; while grass was not her favourite surface, Wimbledon was certainly one of her favourite tournaments.

Competing in the main draw at the All England Club for just the third time in her career, the 24-year-old Spaniard produced a clutch performance to end Kvitova’s seven-match winning streak with a 7-5, 7-6(4) victory on Saturday.

The result saw Badosa move into the fourth round at Wimbledon for the second straight year and earn a showdown with 2019 champion Simona Halep.

“As you know Petra is a champion and for me one of the biggest challenges is to play Petra on grass and today being able to play against her was already a pleasure. You can imagine how I feel after this win; for me it’s unbelievable,” said an elated Badosa of the two-time Wimbledon champion.

“I remember 2014, I came here to play juniors and one of the first matches I watched was on Centre Court, her, Petra winning Wimbledon.

“So you can imagine for me, stepping on Centre Court for the first time playing against a legend like her is really, really special. She’s been an inspiration for me in my career.”

When it comes to previous experience on grass, the 32-year-old Kvitova has a clear advantage over Badosa.

Kvitova won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, and owns five grass court trophies in total; only Serena Williams has won more titles on the surface among active players.

Entering the third round, No.25 seed Kvitova was 66-21 at Tour level on grass throughout her career while Badosa was 7-7.

The powerful Czech clinched the title in Eastbourne on the eve of the Championships and was showing the kind of form that saw her rise to No.2 in the world.

But history and form meant little on Saturday as Badosa showed why she has been one of the most consistent forces on Tour over the past 14 months, and why she is able to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon for a second time in three appearances.

“Never give up, fighting for every ball, I think I showed that today. I think that’s the key of my career,” said Badosa, who hit a career-high No.2 in the rankings two months ago.

Kvitova was determined from the start, hitting every single shot with precision and purpose on her way to a 2-0 advantage.

The Czech lefty threatened to extend her lead but Badosa swatted away a break point to get on the board.

Badosa was making her Centre Court debut at Wimbledon, and it understandably took her a couple of games to shake off some early nerves.

The Spanish No.4 seed began to find her range as she put pressure on the Kvitova serve in a 10-minute third game. But the two-time champion stood her ground to hold for 3-1.

Kvitova saved six break points across three service games before Badosa finally converted one, and it was when it mattered the most as she stopped the Czech from serving out the set to level for 5-all.

The momentum had swung in Badosa’s favour and she grabbed the set in just under an hour courtesy of a Kvitova double fault.

The second set witnessed more grittiness from Badosa, who had her back against the wall in almost every service game but somehow kept finding ways to escape.

Nine break points came and went for Kvitova as the set remained on serve throughout.

The pair engaged in brutal exchanges from the back of the court, Badosa’s position slightly behind the baseline compared to Kvitova’s helping the Spaniard defend against her opponent’s punishing groundstrokes.

The set fittingly went to a tie-break and it was Badosa who inched ahead 3-1 as the match clock hit the two-hour mark. She got her hands on a trio of match points and converted her second to book an intriguing last-16 meeting with Halep.

“Another former champion here,” said Badosa, who lost her sole previous clash with Halep, on clay in Madrid in May.

“But I think I’m playing, I’m enjoying the time on court, for me that’s very important to have fun. I’m enjoying playing on Centre Court; I hope to play on Centre again and I hope we can make a big match like today.”

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