Aryna Sabalenka powered through a one‑hour and 25‑minute match on Saturday to book her place in the Madrid Open round of 16, dispatching Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 6-1, 6-4. The Belarusian, who entered the tournament as the defending champion, will now meet Naomi Osaka in the next round, with a quarter‑final berth on the line.
Sabalenka, currently ranked world No. 1, has now compiled a streak of 14 consecutive victories across all events.
After the win she reflected on her performance, noting, "The first set was especially impressive for me. I even managed a one‑handed backhand, which is quite unusual for me – it felt like the shot of my life." In the doubles draw, veteran Venus Williams celebrated her first triumph since the US Open by partnering with Britain's Katie Boulter. The pair answered Boulter's invitation to team up at the Madrid Open and staged a comeback from a set down, defeating the Chinese duo of Jiang Xinyu and Xu Yifan 4-6, 6-3, [10-7] in the opening round. Williams, 45, is enduring a ten‑match losing streak in singles after a first‑round exit in Madrid, and she had not recorded a doubles win since reaching the US Open quarter‑finals with Leylah Fernandez last summer.
Boulter praised the experience, saying, "It was great, so much fun. Being on the same side of the net with Venus was a privilege – I wouldn't want to be on the opposite side.
Playing with her was a highlight and I enjoyed every minute." The tournament also saw Iga Swiatek withdraw in tears during her third‑round clash with Ann Li. The former world No. 1, who has yet to progress beyond the quarter‑finals in any event this season, disclosed that she was battling a virus. After losing the first two games of the decisive set, Swiatek had her temperature and blood pressure checked.
She took medication and attempted to continue, but appeared fatigued and ultimately retired while trailing 6-7(4), 6-2, 0-3, 0-30. "The past two days have been terrible," Swiatek said. "I think I have a virus. Some hours I feel fine, other hours I'm really bad.
I've heard there might be an outbreak among players at the venue. I'm sure I'll recover in a few days, but I had zero energy today." Swiatek had briefly turned the match around after dropping a tight opening set, but her physical state in the third set made continuation impossible. When asked if she had considered not stepping onto the court at all, the fourth seed admitted, "I knew it would be tough, but I wanted to try. In the third set I felt dizzy and uncoordinated.
I couldn't drink anything because I felt constantly full, and my energy plummeted." She will now focus on recuperation before the Italian Open in Rome next month, hoping to regain form under new coach Francisco Roig ahead of the French Open. "It's sad I can't play because I was feeling good with my game and making progress," she lamented. "The tournament just started, and I couldn't even compete today, which is disappointing." On the men's side, second seed Alexander Zverev dropped the second set to Argentina's Mariano Navone but rallied to win 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Defending champion Casper Ruud cruised past Spain's Jaume Munar with a dominant 6-0, 6-1 victory, while third seed Felix Auger‑Aliassime also advanced to the third round.
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