Aryna Sabalenka began her quest for a third Madrid Open title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Anna Blinkova in second-round action at the Caja Magica on Friday.
The world number one improved her record at the tournament to 18-4, having lifted the trophy in 2021 and 2023, alongside her runner-up showing to Iga Swiatek last year.
After racing to a double-break 5-0 advantage against Blinkova in the opening set, Sabalenka lost one of her breaks before taking the lead on her third set point on the 48-minute mark.
Photo: AFP
The second set was a straightforward affair, with an early break of serve enough for Sabalenka to punch her ticket to the third round, where she awaits either her former doubles partner Elise Mertens or Colombia’s Camila Osorio.
Sabalenka’s three Grand Slam titles have all come on hard courts, but the Belarusian power-hitter has shown she can contend on clay, with two trophies clinched from nine finals reached on the surface.
The 26-year-old said the French Open has proven to be a “challenge” for her and she feels she has unfinished business there after losing in the 2023 semi-finals to Karolina Muchova and last year’s quarter-finals to Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva.
“Every time I go there, it’s like a challenge for me, even though I love playing on clay and I feel really good,” said Sabalenka of Roland Garros. “But I like to accept tough challenges. So I really hope that one year I’ll be able to get that beautiful trophy in my collection.”
Earlier in the day, world number nine Paula Badosa delivered another blow to the tournament, as she was forced to withdraw from her home event due to a lower back injury.
Badosa joins her fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who pulled out of the Madrid Open on Thursday citing a left hamstring issue and a right adductor injury.
Meanwhile, Tunisian Ons Jabeur crashed out in her opener to Moyuka Uchijima 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 while Greece’s Maria Sakkari took a positive step towards recapturing her form by dismissing 29th-seeded Magda Linette 7-6(5), 6-3.
Elsewhere, in the women’s doubles, Taiwanese Hsieh Su-wei and her Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko defeated Briton Olivia Nicholls and Slovak Tereza Mihalikova 6-2, 6-2, to advance to the quarter-finals.
On the men’s side, Alexander Zverev fired 32 winners against just 24 unforced errors in a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win over Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut.
“For me, I always say that this is my favorite centre court in the entire world,” said Zverev, who is a two-time Madrid champion. “I only lost twice in my entire life here, so I hope that stays that way, throughout the next 10 days, and I can continue playing good tennis. As long as I do that, I’m happy.”
The top-seeded Zverev is to face Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round.
Recent Barcelona champion and Madrid eighth seed Holger Rune retired after dropping the first set of his second round encounter with Flavio Cobolli with a right knee injury, while Gael Monfils withdrew ahead of his clash with defending champion Andrey Rublev due to illness. Last year’s finalist Felix
Auger-Aliassime stumbled at the first hurdle, losing to Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo 7-6(5), 6-4.
The Canadian former world number six had a good start to 2025, winning two titles and reaching the final in Dubai but is currently on a four-match losing streak.
It was a good day for Argentines overall as Cerundolo’s brother, Francisco, also advanced to the third round with a 6-3, 6-4 result against qualifier Harold Mayot.
Francisco Cerundolo is to next take on his compatriot Francisco Comesana, who rallied back from 1-5 down in the opening set to upset 13th-seeded Arthur Fils 7-6(4), 6-4.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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