WTA MADRID – Sára Bejlek (18) did not cause any more surprises at the prestigious WTA 1000 clay tournament in Madrid. After a string of five victories and premiership wins on the main circuit, she only found a defeater in world number four Jelena Rybakinová (24), who lost 1:6, 3:6 in the fight for advancement to the quarterfinals and a move into the TOP 100.
Bejlek – Rybakinová 1:6, 3:6
In Madrid, Sára Bejlek qualified for the third of four WTA tournaments this year and for the sixth time overall in her career, and for the first time she was able to follow it up with a win in the main competition. And even three times before she was stopped in the round of 16 by world number four Jelena Rybakinová.
After a series of valuable scalps, the 18-year-old Czech played against a TOP 20 player for the first time and trailed behind the favorite from the start. She was able to hold only two of eight games on serve and although she hit only one less winning shot (22:23) and made one more unforced error (23:22), she used only two of 15 break points and lost 1 after 76 minutes of play: 6, 3:6.
Too hot to handle ♨️
Elena Rybakina fends off a spirited effort from qualifier Bejlek to advance to the quarterfinals in Madrid!#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/59MhKbuRcm
— wta (@WTA) April 29, 2024
Bejlek beat five TOP 100 players in Madrid and also claimed the first two scalps of members of the elite 50, Anna Blinková (45th) and Anna Kalinská (25th). She herself moved to 110th place in the live ranking and will significantly improve her maximum on Monday.
She should complete the French Open qualifier next week as one of the favorites at the ITF tournament in Saint Gaudens, France.
Rybakinová arrived in Madrid after her triumph in Stuttgart, where she also defeated world number one Iga Šwiate and won her third title this year, extending her unbeaten streak on clay to 15 matches. Last year, after the triumph in Rome, she retired from Roland Garros after two wins.
Rybakina d. Bejlek 6-1 6-3
Elena’s last clay season was clouded by health issues
This year, no clouds in sight
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her so consistent & confident
✅15th straight win on clay
✅1st Madrid QFIf she has a weakness, no one can find it right now.
pic.twitter.com/MHGPNBHy75
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 29, 2024
“So far it’s going really well on the clay and I hope to continue that. Every tournament I’m at I obviously want to win. I try to focus on every match, there are a lot of tough opponents and I’m focusing on one at a time. Hopefully it will go like this until the end” said Rybakin.
In the quarterfinals, the 24-year-old Kazakh will face compatriot Julia Putintseva, who is five years her senior (H2H 0:2), with whom she lost on clay (Rome 2020) and hard (Indian Wells 2021). Putintseva defeated Russia’s world number one Darya Kasatkina in three sets and will attack her biggest semi-final.
Results of the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid
Article originally published for Livesport News.
2024-04-29 20:02:46
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