World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka faced a challenging encounter against her former doubles partner, Elise Mertens, in the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open. Despite a tough start, Sabalenka ultimately prevailed over the 28th seed with a score of 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, securing her place in the fourth round.
This victory marks Sabalenka`s ninth consecutive win against Mertens, a streak that dates back to 2018. Their head-to-head record now stands heavily in Sabalenka`s favor at 10-2. Notably, Sabalenka had previously won 14 consecutive sets against the Belgian (15 including a retirement), making Mertens` first-set win a significant moment, breaking a long-standing pattern in their rivalry.
The match initially unfolded as predicted, with Sabalenka quickly establishing a 2-0 lead. However, Mertens mounted a surprising comeback, taking six of the subsequent seven games to clinch the opening set. This was the first set Mertens had won against Sabalenka since Zhuhai in 2019.
The two-time Madrid champion swiftly responded, reasserting her dominance in the match. Sabalenka elevated her intensity and improved her shot accuracy, winning 12 of the final 15 games. This strong finish propelled her into the round of 16 at the Madrid Open for the fourth time in her career. Her next opponent will be the winner of the match between Peyton Stearns and qualifier Rebeka Masarova.
Keys to the Turnaround:
In her post-match interview, Sabalenka highlighted her focus on her serve as crucial to her comeback. “I was trying to find the rhythm on my serve,” she explained. “The moment I started focusing on the timing, on not rushing the ball, on not overhitting, things really clicked.”
The statistics support Sabalenka`s analysis. She drastically reduced her unforced errors from 14 in the first set to just 5 in the second and 9 in the third. Simultaneously, her winner count surged, increasing from 7 in the opening set to a combined 24 across the next two sets. Conversely, Mertens struggled with double faults as the match progressed, hitting none in the first set but accumulating eight across the second and third sets.
Rupert Caldwell