Rybakina, Zheng pull off comebacks in Madrid to set third-round meeting

The third round of the Mutua Madrid Open will see the fifth edition of Elena Rybakina's rivalry with Zheng Qinwen after both players came from a set down, then a break down in the decider, to advance in their tournament openers.

No. 32 seed Zheng defeated Sofia Kenin 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in 1 hour and 53 minutes to move into the third round for just the second time in five appearances, overturning a 2-0 third-set deficit. She was followed on Manolo Santana Stadium by No. 2 seed Rybakina, who trailed Elena-Gabriela Ruse 3-1 in the decider before gritting out a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory in 2 hours and 28 minutes.

Madrid: Scores | Draws | Order of play

Rybakina leads the head-to-head against Zheng 3-1, including a narrow 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 result in the Doha third round two months ago. Zheng's only win in the series came in the 2024 WTA Finals Riyadh round-robin stage, which she took 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-1. Sunday's encounter will be the first time the pair have faced each other on clay.

Neither was satisfied with their second-round performances.

"The match was a big rollercoaster, honestly, because I didn't start well the first set," said Zheng in her press conference. "This always happens since I come back from the injury, I'm not surprised."

In Rybakina's on-court interview, the Australian Open champion admitted that it was "difficult to smile" about her tennis.

"Today, I basically survived," she said. "It wasn't the greatest performance but Gabriela, she played very well. She was playing very deep and aggressive, so it was very difficult. And also, my serve was not really helping me today. I think I only served the last four games proper serving games, and the rest was struggle. But I'm really happy that I managed to win, and I hope I can bring better tennis next round."

Rybakina cuts errors in crucial moments to survive

Ruse managed to take the first set despite a ratio of 15 unforced errors to only two winners -- a reflection of how slow off the marks Rybakina was. Last week's Stuttgart champion was unable to produce her title-winning form, or anything close to it, as she committed 24 unforced errors to only eight winners in the opener.

She responded immediately, firing her first ace in the first game of the second set then hitting a purple patch to lead 4-0. But even closing out that lead wasn't simple. As Rybakina lapsed into error again, Ruse got the set back on serve -- only for her forehand to let her down repeatedly when on the brink of levelling at 4-4. Rybakina seized her opportunity to get over the finishing line, with a bold serve-and-volley play to bring up set point particularly impressive.

World No. 71 Ruse, who was bidding for her second career Top 5 win following her defeat of Paula Badosa at Dubai 2022, played her finest tennis in the third set. She unleashed a series of winners to break for 3-1, and her forehand pass at 4-4 was arguably the shot of the match. However, the Romanian was unable to sustain that level when it mattered. Serving for a 4-1 lead, she lost a two-deuce tussle as her groundstrokes kept sailing long. At 5-5, a wild forehand error brought up a crucial break point, which Rybakina duly converted with a series of relentless backhand blows.

A positive for Rybakina will be her gradual improvement in all areas over the course of the contest. Of her 58 unforced errors, 24 came in the first set, 18 in the second and only 12 in the third. Her first-serve percentage jumped from 41% in the opener to 58% and 55% in the second and third sets respectively. But she will also also have been grateful for Ruse's 51 unforced errors -- and the timing of them in the match's most important moments.

Zheng adjusts strategy to pass Kenin test

When Zheng tallied three aces in her opening service game, including to save break point, the former Australian Open finalist seemed to have come out of the blocks firing. But she fell away in the rest of the first set, committing 18 unforced errors to a watertight Kenin's three. And though Zheng only double faulted twice, both came at crucial moments to bring up break point for her opponent. On both those occasions, a backhand mistake handed the game to Kenin.

Zheng's adjustment was immediately obvious in the first game of the second set. Hitting the ball with greater shape and consistency, she embraced longer baseline exchanges without sacrificing offensive intent -- indeed, the exquisite drop shot winner she found in this game was arguably the shot that galvanized her turnaround. The Chinese player faced, and saved, just one break point in an excellent second set, while Kenin's tally of unforced errors rose to 13.

The third set was patchier from Zheng, though a 2-0 early deficit was a blip she swiftly erased, levelling at 2-2 by hammering a forehand winner off a Kenin drop shot. Though the American had her opportunities to regain a foothold in the match, she was unable to make a tactical impact on proceedings as she had in the first. Down break point at 3-2, Kenin attempted to engage Zheng in a moonball rally, only to send one over the baseline herself.

"I try to change a bit in the second set, try a different game style and I see things work better," Zheng said afterwards. "That's how I win the match -- I go back a bit, try to play with more topspin, not hitting the ball flatter, because I see we are not on hard courts any more."