No.4 seed Elena Rybakina moved into the Mutua Madrid Open quarterfinals for the first time in her career after defeating teenage qualifier Sara Bejlek 6-1, 6-3 on Monday.
Rybakina fended off a last-minute surge by World No.136 Bejlek to notch her seventh straight win on tour after 1 hour and 16 minutes of play. Rybakina is still undefeated this month, having taken the title just over a week ago at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
Holding off the newcomer: Bejlek, the 18-year-old left-hander from the Czech Republic, had her Hologic WTA Tour-level breakthrough this week after strong runs in juniors, ITF Challengers and WTA 125 events, especially on clay courts.
In Madrid, Bejlek won her two qualifying matches, then posted her first three tour-level victories in her maiden WTA 1000 main draw appearance. However, Bejlek’s run came to an end on Monday in her first career meeting with a Top 10 player.
Kazakhstan’s Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, collected her tour-leading 29th match-win of the year by toppling Bejlek. Rybakina is also this year’s tour leader in titles (3), finals (5) and total aces (214).
More to come…