In Madrid, Anastasia Potapova delivered a notable upset at the Mutua Madrid Open on Friday, defeating No. 8 seed Zheng Qinwen with a score of 6-4, 6-4. This win marked Potapova`s first victory against a Top 10 player after eight previous attempts and, based on rankings, was her most impressive result of the season so far.
This match was Zheng`s initial appearance on red clay since she won the singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics last summer. Prior to this encounter, Zheng held a 3-1 lead in their head-to-head record against Potapova.
Having withdrawn from a Round of 16 match against Aryna Sabalenka in Stuttgart just a week earlier due to an undisclosed injury, Potapova has shown strong form in Madrid with two solid wins. After defeating Ashlyn Krueger in the first round, she played effectively against Zheng, capitalizing on five out of nine break point opportunities during the 100-minute contest.
“It means a lot because it’s my first win against Top 10 in quite a long time,” Potapova commented after the match.
When asked if she knew the specifics of her streak against Top 10 players, Potapova guessed, “I don’t know. I would go five?”
The actual number was eight.
“Well that’s not such a bad number — it is my favorite number.”
Potapova, currently ranked No. 39 in the PIF WTA Rankings, won the Transylvania Open title in February and has compiled a season record of 15 wins and 6 losses.
“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.”
“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`s next opponent in the third round on Sunday will be No. 32 seed Sofia Kenin, who advanced by defeating Lulu Sun 6-3, 6-2.
Here is a summary of other key results for Top 10 players on Friday:
Paolini Cruises to Third Round
Jasmine Paolini and Katie Boulter had previously split their four meetings evenly, but their first match on clay showed a clear dominance from the Italian. No. 6 seed Paolini comfortably moved into the Mutua Madrid Open third round, winning 6-1, 6-2 in exactly an hour.
Paolini, a finalist at Roland Garros last year, started the match strongly, hitting five winners to establish a swift 2-0 lead. Boulter, who achieved her first career tour-level clay court win in the previous round against Katerina Siniakova, did manage one good rally to break back, ending with a backhand winner.
However, Boulter`s comeback was short-lived. Paolini took control, winning the next nine games without facing a game point. Her powerful forehands and effective drop shots exploited Boulter`s movement on the clay. In the second set, Paolini lost only four points in the opening five games. Boulter struggled with her strokes, accumulating 21 unforced errors in total.
Serving for the match at 5-0, Paolini briefly faltered with a couple of double faults, allowing Boulter to secure two games. But the Italian quickly regrouped, serving out the match with ease on her second opportunity. Paolini, whose best result in Madrid is a fourth-round appearance last year, will aim to match or surpass that when she faces either No. 29 seed Magda Linette or Maria Sakkari next.
Former Finalist Pegula Rolls On
No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula also booked her spot in the third round. In a contest between the top-ranked American and German players according to the PIF WTA Rankings, Pegula defeated Eva Lys 6-2, 6-2.
Madrid holds a special place for Pegula, as she reached her first career WTA 1000 final here in 2022, finishing runner-up to Ons Jabeur. Since then, she has become a three-time WTA 1000 champion and reached a Grand Slam final at the 2024 US Open.
World No. 68 Lys, comfortably the top German player by ranking, had six chances to break Pegula`s serve in the first set. Pegula, however, successfully saved five of these opportunities, keeping her service games mostly secure. Pegula was particularly effective on her return game in the first set, hitting return winners frequently and winning an impressive 77 percent of points when Lys served her second ball.
The second set mirrored the first, with Pegula closing out the victory in 1 hour and 12 minutes. With this win, Pegula now leads the tour in total match victories this year, reaching 27. She is currently one win ahead of World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who has 26 wins this season.
Pegula will aim to continue her strong performance in Madrid with a third-round match against Moyuka Uchijima of Japan. This will be their first head-to-head meeting. Uchijima secured her spot by defeating Ons Jabeur in three sets on Friday, preventing a repeat of the 2022 Madrid final.
There is significant motivation for Pegula this week, as a deep run in the tournament could potentially see her reach the World No. 2 ranking for the first time in her career.
