No.4 seed Elena Rybakina moved into the Mutua Madrid Open quarterfinals for the first time in her career after defeating teenage qualifier Sara Bejlek 6-1, 6-3 on Monday.

Rybakina fended off a last-minute surge by World No.136 Bejlek to notch her seventh straight win on tour after 1 hour and 16 minutes of play. Rybakina is still undefeated this month, having taken the title just over a week ago at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.

"In Stuttgart, I also got tough opponents for the first few rounds, but managed there to win, and it gave me confidence to come here and finish these matches in two [sets]," Rybakina said, after her third consecutive straight-sets win. "I'm really pleased with [my] game. ... Let's see how far I can go here."

Kazakhstan showdown next: Rybakina will now face her countrywoman Yulia Putintseva in the quarterfinals, after Putintseva battled past No.10 seed Daria Kasatkina 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Monday.

No Kazakh woman had ever made the Madrid quarterfinals before this year. Suddenly, Kazakhstan is guaranteed a Mutua Madrid Open semifinalist in 2024.

Putintseva has held the edge in their head-to-head so far. She has beaten Rybakina in both of their previous meetings, on the clay of Rome in 2020 and on hard court at 2021 Indian Wells.

Rybakina holds off the newcomer: Bejlek, the 18-year-old left-hander from the Czech Republic, had her Hologic WTA Tour-level breakthrough this week after strong runs in juniors, ITF Challengers and WTA 125 events, especially on clay courts.

In Madrid, Bejlek posted her first three tour-level victories in her maiden WTA 1000 main-draw appearance. However, Bejlek's run came to an end on Monday in her first career match against a Top 10 player.

Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, collected her tour-leading 29th match-win of the year by toppling Bejlek. Rybakina is also this year's tour leader in titles (3), finals (5) and total aces (214).

"[Bejlek] was swinging and she was trying to play aggressive," Rybakina said. "I think she moved really well on the court. She reads the game and she was using the pace of the ball, and she's lefty. It's always tough to play against a lefty.

"I think she has good potential. She will for sure play well in the next tournaments, when she gets more experience to play this kind of event."

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Bejlek had a bit of a handle on Rybakina’s overwhelming serve at the start, and she had chances to break the World No.4 twice in a row. But Rybakina righted the ship with her power game and reeled off five straight games to take the one-set lead.

Helped along by sturdy returns, Rybakina served for the match at 5-3 in the second set. However, the Kazakh saw her first two match points slip away, and Bejlek found key winners to garner five break points in that game.

Rybakina, though, had her serve firing when it mattered most, and she erased all of those opportunities. Rybakina forced another long return to create her third match point, and despite outrageous Bejlek defense to keep that point alive, it ultimately proved successful for the victor.

Putintseva upsets Kasatkina; sets all-Kazakh quarterfinal vs. Rybakina

Putintseva resurgence extended: Meanwhile, Putintseva upset Kasatkina in 1 hour and 53 minutes, as the Kazakh No.2 continues to have a renaissance this spring with exceptional play at the last three WTA 1000 events.

Now into her first career Madrid quarterfinal, Putintseva backed up stellar runs in March's Sunshine Double, where she made the Indian Wells Round of 16 and the Miami quarterfinals.

"I [have] a lot of matches right now behind my back, so it's helping a lot, and that's why in an important moment, I’m not rushing, I know what I'm doing," Putintseva said after her latest victory.

Putintseva's triumph over Kasatkina is her fifth Top 20 win during this outstanding stretch. She beat Ekaterina Alexandrova and Madison Keys in Indian Wells and Liudmila Samsonova in Miami, then advanced past World No.7 Zheng Qinwen via retirement earlier in Madrid.

Former Top 30 player Putintseva started March ranked No.80; just two months later, she is projected to see that ranking nearly halved as she approaches a Top 40 return.