After 84 minutes of gritty tennis Aryna Sabalenka and Marta Kostyuk had barely finished their closely-contested first set in what was one of the clashes of the 2025 Mutua Madrid Open so far. The second was not far behind at 68 minutes for a total match time of 2 hours and 32 minutes in a clash that ‘only’ included two sets.

It was a match that had everything. At 6-6 in set two, the heavens opened to give the match one final twist. When the encounter was at its most tense, with the Ukrainian 5-4 up in the second-set tiebreak, the match was suspended for the roof to be closed. When it restarted, she earned herself two set points that would have sent their quarter-final into a decider. But Aryna was not in the mood for an upset and she shut the door on her opponent before stealing the spoils for herself.

“The important thing was to win. This was not about tennis, it was about emotions and I’m proud of how I handled them. It was a very tough match and I managed to come through it”, said a relieved Aryna after she had closed out the tie.

Sabalenka is alive standing in the Caja Magica. Very much so. Beating the world number one in the Manolo Santana is a tall order indeed. Her love affair with Madrid continues to flourish at an event where she apparently has more lives than a cat. On Wednesday, Marta Kostyuk threw everything she had at the three-time Grand Slam champion, but she still came up short.

The first set was hers to lose and, unfortunately for her, she did. Kostyuk was serving at 5-4, when Aryna produced a sublime drop shot to break her opponent’s serve and draw level. Even then it felt like, whatever happened, she would find a way to win. And she did.

The Ukrainian later enjoyed two set points in the tiebreak in set two. However, players like Sabalenka are unforgiving. You have to kick them when they are down, otherwise the outcome will be that of this evening. 7-6, 7-6 will have never tasted better.

Today’s win means Aryna is now in her fourth semifinals at the tournament, equalling Petra Kvitova and Simona Halep as the player with the most appearances in the last four in Madrid. Sabalenka undoubtedly has plenty more to give in the Spanish capital. She is the world number one and tonight she showed everyone why. Her penultimate obstacle on the Madrid clay goes by the name of Elina Svitolina. Another mouth-watering battle awaits in the Caja Magica.