Eala and Starodubtseva move ahead as Prizmic stuns Berrettini at Madrid Open

Filipina star Alexandra Eala enjoyed a strong start to her Madrid Open campaign on Wednesday, moving past Russian qualifier Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round at the event for the third straight year.

The 44th-ranked lefty needed one hour and 31 minutes to dismiss Pavlyuchenkova, who was a semi-finalist in the Spanish capital in 2021.

The 34-year-old Pavlyuchenkova, a former French Open runner-up currently ranked 116 in the world, is 0-6 in tour-level main draw matches so far this season.

Eala saved all four break points she faced and broke Pavlyuchenkova twice in a tightly-contested 54-minute opening set.

The 20-year-old phenom briefly lost her advantage in the second set but swept eight points in a row to regain her lead and book a clash with 19th seed Elise Mertens.

“I feel really great. I love Madrid, it’s an amazing tournament,” said Eala, who has been training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca for almost eight years.

“Every time I come here, I feel very comfortable, I feel like I’m at home.”

Pavlyuchenkova, who was playing with a heavily-strapped right upper thigh, committed close to 40 unforced errors in what was her first meeting with Eala.

“Every match at this level is a battle, all of us players we fight until the end and she’s been on the tour for many years. So I’m really happy with this win. She’s a great player and I’m really happy to be in the next round,” Eala added.

In a thrilling three-set battle, Yuliia Starodubtseva came from a set down to defeat Moyuka Uchijima 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. Starodubtseva dominated the first set with aggressive play, but Uchijima bounced back in the second, raising her level to win 6-1.

However, Starodubtseva refocused in the decider, breaking early and maintaining her intensity to close out the match 6-3, showcasing her resilience and adaptability in a dramatic, back-and-forth encounter.

Venus Williams was knocked out as the 45-year-old went down in straight sets to Kaitlin Quevedo.

The 20-year-old Spanish wild card beat the seven-time Grand Slam champion 6-2, 6-4 in just under one hour and 45 minutes on court.

Ranked 479th in the world, Williams has now lost all seven matches she has played this season. It was her first match on clay since Roland Garros five years ago.

In ATP action at the Caja Magica, 2021 Madrid finalist Matteo Berrettini crashed out to Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic 6-3, 6-4.

“It’s definitely a big thing for me and it’s a pleasure to share the court with him,” said the 20-year-old former Roland Garros junior champion. Prizmic will next take on American fourth seed Ben Shelton.

Meanwhile, former US Open champion Marin Cilic claimed his first Madrid Open win since 2022 with a hard-fought 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 performance against world number 44 Zizou Bergs.

It was the 37-year-old Croatian’s first top-50 victory on clay in four years and it earned him a second-round meeting with Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca.

Sinner’s mastery mindset makes him man to beat: Jannik Sinner was once viewed as an explosive talent custom-built for hardcourt tennis but the four-times Grand Slam champion’s assiduous work on his patience and control has made him the man to beat on clay heading into the French Open.

It had long ⁠been assumed that in his era-defining rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner would scoop up more Grand Slam titles on faster surfaces while the Spaniard would have the edge on red dirt.

Alcaraz, who has won seven majors, remains a formidable claycourt player and is the reigning Roland Garros champion but lost to Sinner in the Monte Carlo final earlier this month. He then suffered a wrist injury in Barcelona that has disrupted his preparations for Paris.

Sinner’s progression will continue this week in Madrid, which is at a higher altitude than the other European ⁠clay venues and quickens the pace of the surface, offering another opportunity for the 24-year-old to showcase his adaptability.

“Here it’s a very unique playing style,” Sinner said.

“It’s a very high altitude and it can be windy at times, so it’s very difficult to play. But I think every different kind of claycourt can help me as I’m trying to improve as a player.”

Results at the big tournaments seemingly offer little to choose between Sinner and Alcaraz over the last couple of years but former player and sports psychologist Jeff Greenwald believes he has identified some subtle differences emerging.

“Sinner, even more than Alcaraz, has this unflappable demeanour that is built from this deep love and appreciation of the process,” Greenwald told Reuters.

Agencies