Mertens drops only three games vs. Eala; will next face Pliskova in Madrid

No. 19 seed Elise Mertens eased past Alexandra Eala in straight sets to advance to the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open on Friday. She will next face former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova for a place in the round of 16.

Playing Eala for the second time on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, Mertens opened the match by breaking serve in Eala’s first service game. She added another break in the seventh game and then held serve to take the opening set.

Mertens, a quarterfinalist here in 2021, broke Eala twice to start the second set and added a third break in the seventh game to seal a 6-2, 6-1 victory in 1 hour, 16 minutes. She saved the only break point she faced and converted five of 11 break-point chances.

With the win, Mertens improved to 2-0 in the head-to-head series against the 20-year-old Eala and also improved to 13-7 in singles this season.

Pliskova holds off late challenge from Sakkari

Pliskova entered her match against the No. 33 seeded Maria Sakkari with a 4-3 lead in their head-to-head series. She won the first set with the only break of serve in the sixth game.

The Czech player moved ahead by a break for a 4-2 lead in the second set before Sakkari rallied to level it. Eventually, Pliskova edged the tiebreak 8-6 to complete a 6-4, 7-6 (8) win in 1 hour, 31 minutes.

Pliskova, playing in Madrid for the first time since 2022, has reached the semifinals here once, back in 2018. She improved to 8-4 this season with this win.

The third-round clash between Pliskova and Mertens will be their eighth career meeting, first since 2023, with the Czech holding a 4-3 edge in their head-to-head series.