Best of Madrid Day 2: From Snigur's epic tiebreak to an Alcaraz-style hot shot

An action-packed second day of first-round action at the Mutua Madrid Open was filled with wild scorelines, audacious hot shots and significant results. We've picked out the five best below.

Snigur wins sixth-longest third-set tiebreak of the century

Nothing on Day 2 was wilder than qualifier Daria Snigur's 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(13) defeat of Daria Kasatkina from four match points down, and possibly nothing will be wilder this season. Yes, you read that third-set tiebreak scoreline correctly: 15-13. It was the longest regular (first-to-seven) tour-level third-set tiebreak in eight years, since Donna Vekic defeated Fanny Stollar 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(13) in the 2018 Washington second round; and the sixth-longest of the century so far.

Even more remarkable: it was the first tour-level clay-court match of No. 98-ranked Snigur's career. The Ukrainian had not even defeated a Top 100 opponent on the surface until her win over Hanne Vandewinkel in qualifying this week, but against former Roland Garros semifinalist Kasatkina she landed winner after winner near the lines with her flat groundstrokes. 

The most important of those was her second match-point save -- having just missed two of her own -- down 7-6 in the tiebreak. Behind the baseline and stretched into the tramlines, Snigur was seemingly out of position to attack -- but fired a bullet of a backhand that just grazed Kasatkina's sideline. Cue disbelief all round -- from Snigur's father in her box, who could only laugh, and from Kasatkina, who had to cut short her celebration.

The remainder of the tiebreak was a nervy affair, but Snigur ultimately saved four match points before converting her seventh -- the joint-most match-point saves in any WTA main-draw win this year so far, alongside Jaqueline Cristian's escape from Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah in Rouen last week. Snigur will face No. 4 seed Iga Swiatek in the second round.

And if you were wondering about the other five third-set tiebreaks to have gone as long this century, they are as follows:

Anastasia Myskina d. Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-6(15), San Diego 2004 semifinals
Elena Dementieva d. Anne Kremer 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(14), Miami 2002 fourth round
Jarmila Wolfe d. Elena Vesnina 1-6, 6-2, 7-6(14), Rome 2015 first round
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni d. Kristina Mladenovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(13), Charleston 2016 second round
Donna Vekic d. Fanny Stollar 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(13), Washington 2018 second round
Daria Snigur d. Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(13), Madrid 2026 first round

Experience gets on the scoreboard against youth

The kids were in the ascendancy on Day 1, which saw 18-year-old Laura Samson defeat 38-year-old Tatjana Maria and 20-year-old Kaitlin Quevedo overcome 45-year-old Venus Williams.

But in arguably the best match of the tournament to date, 31-year-old Yulia Putintseva claimed a win for experience as she overcame 19-year-old Tereza Valentova 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in 2 hours and 52 minutes. It was another tactical masterclass from Putintseva on her favored clay -- the Kazakhstani's drop shots were silkily smooth, and her changes of pace kept Valentova guessing throughout. The Czech teenager wasn't all at sea, though -- a second set in which she blended power and finesse showed exactly why the World No. 51 is so highly rated. Valentova made the closing stages nail-biting, too, as she fended off the first five match points she faced -- the fifth with a clean backhand winner on the line to finish a 17-shot rally -- before Putintseva got over the line on her sixth.

Putintseva will next face No. 26 seed and last week's champion in Rouen, Marta Kostyuk.

Kalinina, Starodubtseva continue Ukrainian surge

Last week saw the first ever all-Ukrainian final in WTA history in Rouen, with Kostyuk claiming the title over 19-year-old qualifier Veronika Podrez. Five Ukrainians were in action on Wednesday in Madrid, and three won through to the second round: backing Snigur up were Anhelina Kalinina and Yuliia Starodubtseva.

Former No. 25 Kalinina has thrived in the clay-court swing before -- she was the 2023 Rome runner-up. She's come back strongly from a six-month injury hiatus last year, reaching four clay-court WTA 125 finals and winning two over the past two months. After saving a match point against Sloane Stephens to qualify, she recovered after losing a 4-1 second-set lead to defeat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Her finest moment came early on -- a muscular backhand winner down the line, struck from way beyond the tramlines. She'll next face No. 23 seed Marie Bouzkova.

Starodubtseva reached her first career WTA final on the green clay of Charleston earlier this month, but that didn't immediately translate to the red clay -- she fell 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in qualifying. But the 26-year-old got into the main draw as a lucky loser and made good use of her second chance, defeating 2025 quarterfinalist Moyuka Uchijima 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. Up next for Starodubtseva is No. 29 seed Jaqueline Cristian.

Mixed fortunes for former Slam finalists Pavlyuchenkova, Pliskova

Two former major finalists -- and Madrid semifinalists -- were in action on Wednesday, and delivered contrasting outcomes. Pavlyuchenkova had snapped a seven-match losing streak to record her first two wins of the year in qualifying, but was unable to find her rhythm against Alexandra Eala, falling 6-3, 6-3. The 2021 Roland Garros runner-up, now ranked No. 116, struck some crowd-pleasing hot shots in the early stages, but converted just one of five break point chances and was undone by 39 unforced errors. By contrast, Eala kept her game watertight with 12 winners to eight unforced errors, and will next face No. 19 seed Elise Mertens.

Former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova has already recorded some impressive results in 2026 as she makes her way back from two ankle surgeries. The 34-year-old reached the Australian Open third round, dethroned defending champion Amanda Anisimova in Doha (via retirement) and upset Ekaterina Alexandrova en route to the Linz quarterfinals two weeks ago. In a hard-hitting, first-strike battle, she sent down seven aces to navigate past Austrian qualifier Sinja Kraus 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. Next up is a familiar foe in No. 33 seed Maria Sakkari. Their rivalry dates back to 2018, though they haven't played since Stuttgart 2023. Pliskova leads the head-to-head 4-3, including 2-1 on clay.

Martinez Cirez gains the plaudits, but Sonmez moves on

Spanish wild card Carlota Martinez Cirez was one of the least heralded players in the draw -- the 25-year-old is ranked No. 352, has a career high of No. 203 and has yet to win a title above ITF W35 level -- but she pulled off the most spectacular shot of the day. Early in the second set against Zeynep Sonmez, the two players yanked each other up and down and from line to line, before Martinez Cirez found an absurd half-volleyed pick-up winner to finish the point. Her home crowd was in raptures, as were the commentators, who were quick to compare it to ATP No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz's frequent crowd-pleasing hot shots.

It was Sonmez who advanced, though. The Turkish player struggled to hit through Martinez Cirez's dogged defense at times, and had to save triple set point down 5-4 in the first set. But she was both patient and clutch as she pegged Martinez Cirez back, ending a 28-shot rally with a drive volley winner to retrieve the break and then saving the third set point by hammering a forehand winner on the 29th stroke. Next up is another Spaniard, No. 27 seed and Merida champion Cristina Bucsa.