World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka faced a tough challenge from her former doubles partner, Elise Mertens, at the Mutua Madrid Open. Sabalenka eventually overcame the 28th seed in three sets, with a final score of 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to the fourth round.
Entering the match, Sabalenka held a significant 9-2 head-to-head advantage against Mertens, including a streak of eight consecutive wins dating back to 2018. This dominant run included a straightforward 6-4, 6-1 victory just last week in the Stuttgart quarterfinals. Furthermore, Sabalenka had won 14 consecutive sets against Mertens (15 including a retirement), a level of dominance that suggested the rivalry had lost much of its competitive edge in recent years.
The twelfth career meeting between the two initially began as expected, with Sabalenka quickly building a 2-0 lead by winning 10 of the first 11 points. However, Mertens mounted a surprising comeback in the first set, winning six of the next seven games to take the set 6-3. This marked the first set Mertens had won against Sabalenka since their match in Zhuhai in 2019, breaking Sabalenka`s long streak of consecutive sets won.
Despite the first-set setback, the two-time Madrid Open champion quickly reasserted her dominance. Increasing her intensity and finding her rhythm, Sabalenka won 12 of the final 15 games, securing the victory and reaching the last 16 in Madrid for the fourth time in her career. Her next opponent will be the winner of the match between Peyton Stearns and qualifier Rebeka Masarova.
When asked about her mid-match turnaround, Sabalenka explained in her on-court interview, “I was trying to find the rhythm on my serve. The moment I started focusing on the timing, on not rushing the ball, on not overhitting, things really clicked.”
Match statistics supported Sabalenka`s assessment. After committing 14 unforced errors in the opening set, she significantly reduced them to just five in the second set and nine in the third. Concurrently, her offensive game improved, with her winner count increasing from seven in the first set to a combined 24 across the second and third sets.
Conversely, Elise Mertens` performance was hampered by an increase in double faults. She did not register any double faults in the first set but hit a total of eight across the second and third sets, contributing to her opponent`s momentum.
