Despite the victory, World No.2 Elena Rybakina was not exactly pleased with her performance against World No. 71 Elena-Gabriela Ruse in her opening match of the Madrid Open.

The second-seeded Kazakh managed to edge out Ruse 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a match that lasted just under two and a half hours of play. But during the traditional post-match interview, Rybakina pointed out her mistakes.

“It was a very difficult match. Today, I basically survived. It wasn’t my greatest performance, but Gabriela played really well. She was playing very deep, aggressively. My serve wasn’t really helping me today. I think I served only the last four games proper service games. The rest was a struggle." Rybakina said.

"I’m really happy I managed to win. Hopefully, I can bring better tennis next round," Rybakina added.

Clay season is off to a bright start for Rybakina, who won the Stuttgart Open after winning four matches on the trot.

But the opener against Ruse proved to be a tougher bout than she would have thought.

Rybakina lost the first set against the World No. 71 but came back roaring in the second with four straight games in her control.

However, she blew both breaks, but eventually managed to come back with a 5-3 lead and win the second set to make it level.

Ruse did not back down in the third set and made Rybakina work her way back from a 3-1 deficit to a 7-5 victory.

The victory marked Rybakina's 100th win in a WTA 1000 event.

But the road does not get easier for Rybakina, who will now have to overcome a familiar opponent in Zheng Qinwen in the third round.

Elena Rybakina Faces Off Against Zheng Qinwen in the Third Round

The rivalry between Rybakina and World No.36 Zheng Qinwen continues on clay, as Qinwen proved to be a tougher bout than she would have thought, coming from a set down, then a break down in the decider, in her opening match.

The No. 32 seed 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

Rybakina leads Qinwen 3-1 in their head-to-head matchup, with the most recent victory in the Doha third round two months ago, where the World No.2 advanced with a narrow 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 win.

The Manolo Santo arena will host the third round between these two heavyweights on Sunday.

So, who do you think is going through the next round between Elena Rybakina and Zheng Qinwen?

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Written by

Joy Bassy

Edited by

Utsav Gupta