Memory Lane

Madrid Memories 2010: Rezai's peak form, Serena's marathon comeback

Look back on the story of the 2010 Mutua Madrid Open, from a memorable instalment of the all-Serbian rivalry between Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic to the longest match of Serena Williams' career and a fairytale run for the unseeded Aravane Rezai.

01 /18
Petra Kvitova was a notable qualifier for Madrid in 2010; the future three-time champion defeated Michelle Larcher De Brito and Alla Kudryavtseva in straight sets to make the main draw.

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02 /18
No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki ended Kvitova's run in the first round, winning a clash of future Grand Slam champions 6-4, 6-2 - at this point her second win in as many meetings over the Czech.

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03 /18
Justine Henin came into Madrid fresh off the first title of her 2010 comeback in Stuttgart, but Aravane Rezai sprung a first-round shock, reeling off the last eight games for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-0 win - a foreshadowing of how the tournament would pan out.

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04 /18
Lucie Safarova also delivered a first-round upset, ending No.11 seed Maria Sharapova's comeback from an elbow injury 6-4, 6-3.

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05 /18
The first-round upsets kept coming: Klara Koukalova edged defending champion and No.3 seed Dinara Safina, whose season was beset by what would ultimately be a career-ending back injury, 7-6(1), 7-6(3).

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06 /18
Top seed Serena Williams survived a match point and three tiebreaks to come through the longest match of her career in the second round, a three-hour, 26-minute 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-6(5) marathon over Vera Dushevina.

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07 /18
Fresh off the Rome final, No.7 seed Jelena Jankovic took bragging rights in a testy all-Serbian second-round derby, defeating Ana Ivanovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 and jokingly imitating her compatriot's trademark fistpump in celebration afterwards.

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08 /18
For the second week running, Alexandra Dulgheru scored a Top 10 scalp; having upset Dinara Safina in Rome, the rising Romanian beat No.6 seed Elena Dementieva 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 in the second round, overturning a 1-4 final-set deficit.

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09 /18
Alona Bondarenko captured the best win of her career by ranking in the second round, taking out World No.2 Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-3.

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10 /18
In the third round, No.16 seed Nadia Petrova posted her third victory over a reigning World No.1, and third win against Serena Williams, taking out the top seed 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach her third straight clay quarterfinal.

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11 /18
Lucie Safarova continued her brilliant week by saving a match point to overcome Alexandra Dulgheru 6-7(4), 6-1, 7-6(6) in a late-night third-round clash, then edging Petrova 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in a rollercoaster to make her second semifinal of the year.

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12 /18
No.4 seed Venus Williams came into Madrid with a 21-3 record in 2010, and racked up quality wins on her way to the last four: Vera Zvonareva, imminent Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone and, in the quarters, No.8 seed Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-3.

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13 /18
The in-form Shahar Peer had upset No.5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round, and in the last eight battled past No.13 seed Li Na 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to reach her fifth semifinal of the season.

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14 /18
Aravane Rezai's blistering form continued as the Frenchwoman overpowered Jelena Jankovic 7-5, 6-4 to make the semifinals, where Lucie Safarova retired due to a thigh injury trailing 6-1 to put Rezai into her fifth and biggest final.

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15 /18
In the other semifinal, Venus Williams dismissed Shahar Peer 6-3, 6-0 to storm into her fourth final of 2010, and biggest on clay since Berlin 2004.

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16 /18
Unseeded World No.24 Aravane Rezai was the undoubted underdog going into the final - but sustained the peak form she had shown all week to take the first set 6-2 and come back from 2-5 down, saving five set points, to win the second 7-5.

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17 /18
The third and biggest trophy of Rezai's four career titles rocketed the 23-year-old up to World No.16 - while Williams returned to World No.2, her highest position since May 2003.

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18 /18
Rezai would hit a career high of World No.15 in October 2010, but never replicated this week's title run; a spell of poor form saw her sink out of the Top 100 in July 2011. Though formally still active, she has competed in just two tournaments since 2017.

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