At the Mutua Madrid Open on Friday, Anastasia Potapova secured a significant victory by defeating the eighth seed, Zheng Qinwen, with a score of 6-4, 6-4. This result marked the end of Potapova`s run of eight consecutive losses against Top 10 opponents and was, based on her opponent`s ranking, her most impressive win so far this year.
For Zheng, this match was her first appearance on red clay since winning the singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics last summer. Prior to this meeting, Zheng had won three out of their four previous encounters against Potapova.
Potapova, who withdrew from her Round of 16 match against Aryna Sabalenka in Stuttgart a week prior due to an undisclosed injury, demonstrated strong form with two consecutive wins in Madrid. She defeated Ashlyn Krueger in the first round and maintained a solid performance against Zheng, converting five of her nine break point opportunities during the 100-minute match.
Following her win, Potapova commented, “It means a lot because it’s my first win against Top 10 in quite a long time.”
When asked if she knew the specifics of her losing streak against Top 10 players, Potapova guessed, “I don’t know. I would go five?”
Upon learning the number was eight, she responded, “Well that’s not such a bad number — it is my favorite number.”
Potapova, currently ranked No. 39, won the Transylvania Open title in February and has now accumulated 15 wins out of 21 matches this season.
“This win doesn’t feel crazy and something out of this world,” Potapova explained, “only because the last matches that we played it was such a battle, always the tiebreak was involved, over three hours. Maybe this gave me the feeling that I’m actually on the same level as her.”
She added, “I think it’s just the mindset that I can do it. I didn’t try to convince myself — I knew it. That was the difference. In the key moments, I was not afraid of hitting the ball because I knew deep inside that it could be my match.”
Potapova is scheduled to face No. 32 seed Sofia Kenin in the third round on Sunday. Kenin advanced after defeating Lulu Sun 6-3, 6-2.
Here is an update on other highly ranked players who competed on Friday:
Paolini advances easily to the third round
Although Jasmine Paolini and Katie Boulter had split their four previous matches evenly, their first meeting on clay saw a clear dominance from the Italian. The sixth seed, Paolini, needed just an hour to secure a 6-1, 6-2 victory and move into the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open.
Paolini, a finalist at Roland Garros last year, started strongly, hitting five clean winners to establish a 2-0 lead. Boulter, who had achieved her first main-draw tour-level win on clay earlier in the week, managed to break back with a well-played rally ending in a backhand winner.
However, that was the peak of Boulter`s performance. Paolini took control, winning the next nine games without facing a game point. She effectively used heavy forehands and precise drop shots to exploit Boulter`s movement. In the second set, Paolini lost only four points across the first five games. Boulter struggled with her shots, accumulating 21 unforced errors.
Serving for the match at 5-0, Paolini had a brief lapse with two double faults, allowing Boulter to win two games. This was not enough to change the outcome, and the Italian comfortably served out the match on her second attempt. Paolini, who reached the fourth round in Madrid last year, will aim to surpass that achievement when she faces either No. 29 seed Magda Linette or Maria Sakkari next.
Former finalist Pegula moves on
The third seed, Jessica Pegula, also secured her spot in the third round. In a match between the top-ranked American and German players, Pegula defeated Eva Lys 6-2, 6-2.
Madrid holds special significance for Pegula, as she reached her first career WTA 1000 final here in 2022, finishing as the runner-up to Ons Jabeur. Since then, Pegula has added three WTA 1000 titles and was a finalist at the 2024 US Open.
World No. 68 Lys, currently the top-ranked German, had six break point chances against Pegula in the first set but was only able to convert one, as Pegula largely kept her serve under control. Pegula was particularly effective on return in the first set, frequently hitting return winners and winning 77 percent of points on Lys`s second serve.
The pattern continued in the second set, and Pegula completed the victory in 1 hour and 12 minutes. With this win, Pegula now leads the tour in match wins this year with 27, one ahead of World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who has 26 wins.
Pegula`s next opponent in the third round will be Moyuka Uchijima of Japan. This will be their first meeting. Uchijima defeated Jabeur in three sets on Friday, preventing a rematch of the 2022 Madrid final.
There are significant implications for Pegula this week; a strong performance could potentially elevate her to the World No. 2 ranking for the first time in her career.
