World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka served a stern test from her former doubles partner, Elise Mertens, to advance to the Last 16 at the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday, but Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina were all sent packing to compete on another day.
I was clear on what I had to do on the court. Just went out and executed it perfectly. I didn't give her any room to breathe. That was my goal — that is the goal against the very good players. I think it was pretty good, I have to say. Maria Sakkari
Top-seeded Sabalenka needed 3 sets to get past Mertens for a 10th straight time, although the Belgian 28th seed gave her a real scare before the Belarusian advanced, 3-6 6-2 6-1, to the 4th-round after 2 hours.
Sabalenka came into the match boasting a hefty 9-2 head-to-head lead over Mertens, including 8 in a row dating back to 2018, and a 6-4 6-1 win in last week's Stuttgart quarter-finals, while she had won 14 consecutive sets against the Belgian, 15 including a 4-0 retirement in 2021.
“It's always tough battles against Elise,†she said. “Today, she played incredible tennis, honestly. I had no idea how I was able to turn around this match, and bring such a great level in the second and the third set. I'm super happy with the win. It was a really tough match.â€
In their 12th meeting, Sabalenka raced through 10 of the first 11 points, but from 0-2 down, Mertens began to turn the tables, taking 6 of the next 7 games and, for the first time since Zhuhai 2019, a set.
“Honestly, I was just trying to play point by point,†Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. “I was trying to find the rhythm on my serve, especially on the serve and the baseline, as well.
“The moment I started focusing on the timing, and not rushing the ball, or over-hitting, things really clicked.â€
In fact, the 2-time Madrid champion was swift to resume normal service, and turned up the heat as she regained her accuracy to blow through 12 of the last 15 games of the match and reach the Last 16 in Madrid for the 4th time in her career.
In the first set, she had made 14 unforced errors, but by the second, she reduced those down to 5, and to 9 in the decider, while her winner count rose from 7 in the opener to 24 across the next two sets.
Mertens, on the other hand, was increasingly beset by double-faults, having not made any in the first set, but coughing up 8 in the second and third.
Roared on by a vocal crowd, Sabalenka has been feeling the love of Brazilian fans since winning Miami last month, and although she has yet to go to Brazil, the World No 1's growing fan base brought Brazil to the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday.
“Thank you so much, everyone, for coming, watching and supporting us,†Sabalenka said. “Especially my Brazilian support, you guys are the best. Obrigado!â€
Sabalenka will next face America's Peyton Stearns, who raced past Swiss qualifier Rebeka Masarova, 6-2 6-0, in just 65 minutes.
Sabalenka needed to save 4 match points the only time they previously had met, before escaping 6-(2) 6-2 7-6(6) in the 2024 Indian Wells 2nd-round.
23-year old Moyuka Uchijima upset World No 3 Jessica Pegula in straight sets to reach the 4th round in Madrid
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Jessica Pegula, the World No 3, crashed out in round 3 at the hands of 23-year old Moyuka Uchijima, who is ranked 56.
The Japanese took just an hour and 20 minutes to prevail, 6-3 6-2, and record her first career Top 10 win.
She had also notched up her first against a Top 25 player, as Uchijima had already upset No 26 seed Ons Jabeur in the 2nd-round, while it is worth noting that the Tunisian had beaten Pegula in the 2022 Madrid final.
A recent winner in Charleston, Pegula was the clear favourite, having come into this contest with 7 wins from 8 matches on clay this year, while she was seeking a tour-high 28th win of the season.
The American, though, was broken 5 times by Uchijima, who also saved 5 of 7 break points on the way to setting up a Last 16 meeting with Ekaterina Alexandrova, after the Russian saw off her former compatriot Daria Kasatkina, now the No 1 Australian, 6-3 7-6(3), in the nightcap match.
Uchijima was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and moved to Tokyo, Japan, as a young child.
“At that time, I was doing swimming and basketball, but I wanted to try something else,†she said. “So I started tennis with my sister. Swimming was tough. Every day you're doing the same thing and basketball was mostly running every day and I didn't like that. I really enjoyed hitting balls.â€
Uchijima trains in Guangzhou, China, with Zheng Saisai, among others, but did not have much experience playing on clay.
“I played on hard court and artificial grass court – it's what we have in Japan,†she added. “Clay was really challenging for me, but a couple of years ago I started to find my game on clay. And, actually, it suits the way I play the most.
“Last year it clicked. This year, I didn't really get to practice on clay but, match by match, I'm getting better. Yeah, I'm starting to like clay more and more.â€
Two years ago, Uchijima lost her first qualifying match in Madrid, while last year, her ranking was not high enough to make the qualifying draw, so she played, and won, an ITF W100 event at a different site in Madrid.
It was part of a 19-match winning streak, including 3 ITF titles, then qualifying and reaching the 2nd-round of Roland Garros that took her into the Top 100 for the first time. Now she is heading into the Top 50.
Maria Sakkari is regaining her form and sent Jasmine Paolini, the 6th seed, packing at La Caja Magica in Madrid on Sunday
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Jasmine Paolini, the 6th-seeded Italian, was another big name to fall in the Spanish capital on Sunday, the 2-time major runner-up going down, 6-2 6-1, to Maria Sakkari from Greece.
“It feels pretty good because it's been a while since I had, let's call it a statement win for myself,†Sakkari said. “It wasn't easy all this time. But at the same time, I knew that I had to trust, as we say, the process. Trusting that it's going to come. It's a good step forward, and I want to stay humble with my expectations.
“I feel, like, the pieces are coming together. Still a long way to go, though.â€
Sakkari is a former Top 10 player and French Open semi-finalist, who has slipped to 82 in the rankings following a difficult season, but she was on song, firing 6 aces and breaking her opponent 6 times on the way to securing a Last 16 showdown with Elina Svitolina.
It ended a string of 8 losses to Top 10 players for Sakkari, dating back to last year's BNP Paribas Open, while she leveled her record against those elite players on clay to 6-6.
“I was clear on what I had to do on the court,†Sakkari said afterwards. “Just went out and executed it perfectly. I didn't give her any room to breathe. That was my goal — that is the goal against the very good players.
“I think it was pretty good, I have to say.â€
Sakkari, who is back working with coach Tom Hill after his stint of nearly a year with Stearns, has now won 3 consecutive matches and will face No 17 seed Elina Svitolina in the round of 16, with their head-to-head deadlocked at 2-2, but this will be their first meeting on clay.
Elina Svitolina has yet to lose a set on clay this season after defeating Elena Rybakina in the nightcap match in Madrid
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Svitolina remains undefeated on clay this year and has not dropped a set on the surface in 2025 as she extended her stellar clay-court streak with an impressive 6-3 6-4 victory over 10th-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan on Sunday night.
The Ukrainian took 1 hour and 24 minutes to dismiss last year's Madrid semi-finalist, leveling their overall head-to-head at 3-3, while she leads Rybakina 2-1 on clay.
Svitolina never faced a break point on Sunday until a crucial game at 6-3, 4-3, where Rybakina cracked 2 fierce forehands to earn her only 2 break points of the match.
Staying completely placid, Svitolina erased them both with a rally backhand and un-returnable serve, and then found more of her best deliveries to grind through that close game, attaining victory without losing her serve.
Rybakina fired 24 winners to Svitolina's 10, but the former Wimbledon champion came unglued with 48 unforced errors.
Anastasia Potapova upset Sofia Kenin to make the Last 16 on Day 6 of the Mutua Madrid Open
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Earlier in the day, Anastasia Potapova came from 1-3 down in the third set, then saved double match point in the deciding tiebreak, to upset former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, the No 32 seed from the USA, 3-6 6-4 7-6(6), and leveling their head-to-head at one win apiece, the Russian having previously led their junior head-to-head 2-1.
Potapova advances to meet Marta Kostyuk, the 24th seed from Ukraine, who fired 2 aces during the course over 6-0 4-6 6-4 win over Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova, one of which was strangest winners ever, a mis-hit loop that twisted sideways when it landed.