World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka survived a tough challenge from her former doubles partner, Elise Mertens, at the Mutua Madrid Open. The top seed ultimately defeated the 28th seed Mertens in three sets, winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to the fourth round.
Sabalenka entered the match with a strong 9-2 head-to-head record against Mertens, including eight consecutive wins dating back to 2018. This dominant streak included a straight-sets victory just the previous week in Stuttgart and had seen Sabalenka win 14 consecutive sets against the Belgian.
Their twelfth encounter initially seemed set to follow this pattern, with Sabalenka quickly establishing a 2-0 lead. However, Mertens staged a comeback, winning six of the next seven games to claim the first set – the first time she had taken a set from Sabalenka since 2019.
Despite dropping the opener, the two-time Madrid champion quickly regained control. Sabalenka sharpened her focus and accuracy, winning 12 of the final 15 games of the match. This performance secured her spot in the Round of 16 at the tournament for the fourth time. Her next opponent will be the winner of the match between Peyton Stearns and qualifier Rebeka Masarova.
Reflecting on her mid-match turnaround, Sabalenka commented, “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.”
Statistical analysis supported her adjustment. After committing 14 unforced errors in the first set, Sabalenka significantly reduced this number to just five in the second set and nine in the third. Concurrently, her winner count increased substantially, moving from seven in the first set to a combined 24 across the subsequent two sets.
Conversely, Mertens began to struggle with double faults as the match progressed, hitting eight across the second and third sets after recording none in the first.
