Top seed Aryna Sabalenka endured a challenge from her former doubles partner, Elise Mertens, at the Mutua Madrid Open. Sabalenka, the world No. 1, lost the opening set but ultimately defeated the 28th seed with a score of 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the fourth round.
This victory extended Sabalenka`s dominant head-to-head record against Mertens to 10-2, marking her ninth consecutive win against the Belgian. Their previous encounters, including a recent straight-sets victory in Stuttgart, had seen Sabalenka win 14 consecutive sets, making their matchup seem predictable for years.
The start of their 12th career meeting appeared to follow the established pattern, with Sabalenka quickly building a 2-0 lead in the first set. However, Mertens mounted a surprising comeback, winning six of the next seven games to claim the opening set 6-3, the first set she had taken from Sabalenka since their match in Zhuhai in 2019.
Sabalenka, a two-time champion in Madrid, quickly reset after dropping the set. Increasing the intensity and control of her shots, she dominated the remainder of the match, winning 12 of the final 15 games. This secured her place in the last 16 for the fourth time, where she awaits the winner of the match between Peyton Stearns and qualifier Rebeka Masarova.
Speaking after the match, Sabalenka attributed her comeback to adjusting her serve. “I was trying to find the rhythm on my serve,” she explained in her post-match interview. “The moment I started focusing on the timing, on not rushing the ball, on not overhitting, things really clicked.”
Statistics support her statement. Sabalenka`s unforced errors decreased significantly from 14 in the first set to just five in the second and nine in the third. Concurrently, her winners surged from seven in the opening set to a combined 24 across the final two sets.
Conversely, Mertens struggled with double faults as the match progressed, committing eight over the second and third sets after hitting none in the first.
Jasper Hawthorne 
Dominic Ashworth