Marta Kostyuk secured her best-ever performance at the Mutua Madrid Open by defeating former US Open champion Emma Raducanu in a hard-fought three-set match on Friday. This victory marked only Kostyuk`s second main-draw win in her seven appearances at the tournament.
Prior to this event, the Ukrainian player held a career record of just one win against six losses in Madrid, having exited in the second round in her last three attempts. Her decisive 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win over Raducanu propelled the No. 24 seed into the third round for the first time. She is now set to face Veronika Kudermetova for a place in the last 16.
Kostyuk not only had to contend with Raducanu, who herself had just secured her first outdoor clay win in three years in the previous round, but also her own physical condition. After taking the first set, Kostyuk required a medical timeout for what appeared to be a wrist issue. Despite this, she overcame any lingering discomfort to finish the match, which lasted 2 hours and 17 minutes.
Here are some notable statistics from Kostyuk`s victory:
2: Kostyuk now holds a 2-1 head-to-head record against Raducanu. This win serves as payback for their last encounter, which also occurred in the second round in Madrid in 2022, where Raducanu, then the No. 9 seed, won convincingly 6-2, 6-1.
3: Kostyuk`s win guarantees that three Ukrainian players will feature in the third round. No. 17 seed Elina Svitolina, who also had a losing record in Madrid before this tournament, advanced by defeating Great Britain`s Sonay Kartal 6-3, 6-1. Qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva joined them by beating lucky loser Elisabetta Cocciaretto 7-6(5), 6-4 after Karolina Muchova withdrew due to illness.
4: The match saw significant runs of points. Raducanu claimed four consecutive games to level and win the second set, while Kostyuk mirrored this with four straight games to close out the deciding set. In each set, the eventual winner established an early 2-0 lead, saw their opponent fight back to level, and then managed to pull away again.
11: A high number of service breaks occurred, totaling 11 throughout the match. Kostyuk converted six of her 16 break point opportunities, while Raducanu capitalized on five of her seven chances.
To extend her best Madrid run, Kostyuk will need to secure her first win against Veronika Kudermetova. Although they haven`t played since 2021, Kudermetova advanced by overcoming Spanish lucky loser Cristina Bucsa in three sets, saving a match point in her 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-5 comeback victory in the second round.
