Amanda Anisimova caused the biggest upset on the opening day of the 2022 Mutua Madrid Open by upsetting the defending titlist and the third seed, Aryna Sabalenka. The American won 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, with the match falling shy of the two-hour mark by five minutes.
This was Anisimova’s fourth win over Sabalenka and her second win this year, after the Charleston Open a few weeks earlier. Meanwhile, Sabalenka’s now lost all four matches she’s played against Anisimova.
Anisimova won 61% of her first-serve points and 57% of her second-serve points. In comparison, Sabalenka won 63% of her first-serve points and only 47% of her second-serve points. Anisimova dropped her serve thrice in the match while breaking her opponent five times. In the second round, she will play Petra Martic. The Croatian, who qualified for the main draw, defeated Liudmila Samsonova, 7-6(6), 6-1 in their opener.
Mutua Madrid Open: Simona Halep begins with a win
In the Czech derby between fifth seed Karolina Pliskova and Marie Bouzkova, the latter posted an upset over her higher-ranked countrywoman. Bouzkova won 6-4, 7-5 in an hour and 34 minutes. Bouzkova will take on the fellow qualifier, Dayana Yastremska in the second round. The Ukrainian came through her opener against lucky loser, Greet Minnen who retired in their opening-round match.
Ekaterina Alexandrova also scored an upset en route to reaching the second round in the Spanish capital. Alexandrova pipped 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in an hour and 48 minutes. In the second round, Alexandrova will play Nuria Parrizas Diaz. The Spaniard defeated Sorana Cirstea, 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 36 minutes.
Meanwhile, two-time Mutua Madrid Open champion Simona Halep set up a second-round meeting against the second-seeded Paula Badosa. This will be the first time the two will be facing each other. In her first-round clash, Halep came through against Shuai Zhang, 6-2, 6-3 in an hour and eight minutes. The Spaniard got past Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-0 in their first-round match, in 65 minutes.
Photo Credit: Mutua Madrid Open Twitter
