Rybakina prevails in tight three-setter against Zheng in Madrid

Elena Rybakina found herself down a set to Zheng Qinwen for the second time this season on Sunday night in Madrid. And for the second time, she clawed back to score a three-set win over the Olympic gold medalist.

Madrid: Scores | Draws | Order of play

Rybakina needed 2 hours and 21 minutes to complete the comeback, earning a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory to reach the fourth round of the Mutua Madrid Open. The win is her fourth over Zheng in five meetings at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level, and it makes her the first player to defeat Zheng on all three surfaces.

“I think the level of the match was better than the first one,” Rybakina said in her on-court interview. “I think my serve was better, but Qinwen, she is a tough opponent. She was serving really well. She was also returning all my serves. I don’t think that the serve was really an issue today.

“So yeah, I’m just happy that I took the opportunity in the second set. I was fighting, trying to always stay close. Somehow again, another three-set match, but I’m happy.”

With her tour-leading 27th win of the season, Rybakina will face lucky loser Anastasia Potapova for a spot in the quarterfinals. Here’s how she got it done.

Limiting mistakes: Zheng finished with more winners (24 to 19) and aces (nine to seven), but her 45 unforced errors -- 15 more than Rybakina -- proved decisive. Nine came on double faults, contributing to a 38%-win rate on second-serve points.

Rybakina wasn’t flawless, but her lack of errors allowed her to stay within reach even after the former World No. 4 took the opening set and went up a break in the second. It gave her room to capitalize when Zheng faltered, including in the final game of the second set where three double faults helped Rybakina break to steal the set.

That break came shortly after a bit of electric line-calling controversy. Serving down 4-3, Zheng was awarded an ace for 40-0 despite the mark appearing well out. She held at love, much to Rybakina’s frustration.

“Well with this thing, I won’t trust it at all,” Rybakina told reporters. “Because there was no mark even close to what the TV showed. It was, I think, similar to what (Alexander) Zverev had last year because it was in front of her nose. You can’t not see it. It was pretty frustrating. It’s kind of a stolen point. I understand it was her serve and she was serving really well, but it’s really frustrating.”

Timely breaks: Alas, the late break in the second set was one of several that came at key moments. The first arrived immediately after Rybakina was broken early in the set, when she erased a 40-0 deficit to break back for 1-1.

After leveling the match, she struck first in the decider for a 3-1 lead, her first lead of the night. Zheng broke back for 3-2, but Rybakina responded again, reclaiming the advantage for 4-2 and never letting go. Her seventh backhand winner set up her first match point, and a Zheng error on the second sealed the win for the World No. 2.

Only Jessica Pegula (seven) and Mirra Andreeva (six) have more comeback wins than Rybakina this season.

What’s next: Rybakina has won her only tour-level meeting against Potapova, a victory in Brisbane 2024 en route to the title. If she were to make it two-for-two, she’d advance to the Madrid quarterfinals for just the second time.

For Zheng, Sunday’s performance offered more signs of progress as she works to climb back up the rankings.

“I could learn a lot of things from this match,” Zheng told reporters. “I see the things I need to improve, and I hope in the next one I will play better. I think the level has always been there, but in the important moments during the match I need to deal (with it) better than that.”