Aryna Sabalenka Victory Over Mirra Andreeva, Advances to 2nd Consecutive Madrid Open Semifinal
Mutua Madrid Open updates: Aryna Sabalenka, the defending champion, secure her spot in the Mutua Madrid Open semifinals for the third time in four years.
In a rematch of their 2023 fourth round match, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka defeated Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-4, to complete the semifinal lineup at the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open.
After fighting through the first week of her title defense, Sabalenka eventually defeated 17-year-old Andreeva in her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal, which lasted for an hour and 19 minutes in Manolo Santana Stadium under the lights.
Twelve months ago, Sabalenka defeated Andreeva in her second Madrid title match. Riding a wave of sixteen consecutive victories from two W60 ITF Pro Circuit crowns, the teenager advanced to the Round of 16 as a wild card, ranked just within the Top 200. Since then, Andreeva has not stopped drawing attention on the biggest stages of the sport. She has advanced to the Australian Open in 2024 and Wimbledon’s second week, when she defeated former world No. 2 Ons Jabeur in straight sets.
Unseeded at the Caja Magica, Andreeva—who recently hired coach Conchita Martinez—celebrated her 17th birthday by pulling off her third upset of the week. She did this by defeating No. 12 seed Jasmine Paolini in straight sets, setting up a rematch with Sabalenka after winning against No. 29 seed Linda Noskova and No. 7 seed Marketa Vondrousova.
In contrast, Sabalenka has not always had her own way since arriving in Madrid. She had to battle through three-setters against Robin Montgomery and Magda Linette before facing the rapidly rising No. 13 seed Danielle Collins. Sabalenka delivered Collins, who had won the Miami Open and Credit One Charleston Open back-to-back, her first loss since the BNP Paribas Open from a set down. With the victory, Sabalenka achieved a something she hadn’t achieved since winning her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open: winning three straight matches.
The much awaited match began in Sabalenka’s favor; the 25-year-old won the opening set with just one game lost by tripling Andreeva’s winning count (17 to 5). Similar to the first set, Sabalenka broke the second set with a brilliant backhand putaway and was soon two games from victory. Andreeva made her best push of the match with her back to the wall. She forced Sabalenka to return a serve after crawling out of a close game.
With a powerful response, Sabalenka turned the tables on Andreeva, allowing her to hang on and earn two match points. Sabalenka was undaunted, though, and struck an ace for a third match point—this time on her own serve—despite Andreeva saving both and continuing to fight. She easily crossed the finish line in straight sets this time, outpacing Andreeva.
She won 35 games to just 13 unforced errors overall, and she went through two sets without encountering a break point.
The reigning champion’s next matchup is an intriguing one against Elena Rybakina, ranked fourth, who survived a duel with Yulia Putintseva earlier on Wednesday by saving two match points.
