Sabalenka has been a finalist at the Mutua Madrid Open three times. On two of those occasions she claimed the title. However, in the Spanish capital it’s a case of all or nothing for the world number one. This is her seventh appearance in the Caja Magica. In her six previous participations she either reached the final or bowed out in her first match. In other words, her record in her openers in Madrid was 3-3.
On Friday, though, the scales tipped in her favour. Now that she has overcome the first hurdle, the rest of the draw have every reason to be nervous as the statistics would indicate she already has one foot in the decider. Given her form, it would be no surprise to see her there either. She is the world number one, has just reached the final in Stuttgart, and is more than 3000 points ahead of Swiatek in the WTA rankings.
Her first triumph this year in the Caja Magica was a 6-3, 6-4 win over Anna Blinkova. The 76th player in the world was powerless to stop the two-time Madrid champion, who played some impressive tennis despite the change of altitude from Germany.
Having progressed from her opener in the Spanish capital, she spoke about how she adapts her game to clay: “I think I adapt well to clay because, in general, it’s a slower game. You have more time”. Then she added: “I don’t know, at the same time it’s easier and more difficult because I have more time and I have more options in my head”, said Sabalenka, laughing. “Sometimes I get confused”.
So far this week, she doesn’t seem to be confused at all… it was a successful start to her assault on a third crown.
