The third round of the Mutua Madrid Open will see the fifth edition of Elena Rybakina’s rivalry with Zheng Qinwen after both players came from a set down, then a break down in the decider, to advance in their tournament openers.
No. 32 seed Zheng defeated Sofia Kenin 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in 1 hour and 53 minutes to move into the third round for just the second time in five appearances, overturning a 2-0 third-set deficit. She was followed on Manolo Santana Stadium by No. 2 seed Rybakina, who trailed Elena-Gabriela Ruse 3-1 in the decider before gritting out a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory in 2 hours and 28 minutes.
Madrid: Scores | Draws | Order of play
Rybakina leads the head-to-head against Zheng 3-1, including a narrow 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 result in the Doha third round two months ago. Zheng’s only win in the series came in the 2024 WTA Finals Riyadh round-robin stage, which she took 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-1. Sunday’s encounter will be the first time the pair have faced each other on clay.
Neither was satisfied with their second-round performances.
“The match was a big rollercoaster, honestly, because I didn’t start well the first set,” said Zheng in her press conference. “This always happens since I come back from the injury, I’m not surprised.”
In Rybakina’s on-court interview, the Australian Open champion admitted that it was “difficult to smile” about her tennis.
“Today, I basically survived,” she said. “It wasn’t the greatest performance but Gabriela, she played very well. She was playing very deep and aggressive, so it was very difficult. And also, my serve was not really helping me today. I think I only served the last four games proper serving games, and the rest was struggle. But I’m really happy that I managed to win, and I hope I can bring better tennis next round.”
More to come…
