DSabalenka survives against a former “major” semi-finalist for a successful start to her title defense!

Aryna Sabalenka has not been showing her best tennis in the last few weeks. After the Australian Open, where she successfully defended her title, the Belarusian managed to win two consecutive matches in only one tournament (Indian Wells). However, the Madrid Open is one of the world number 2’s favorite tournaments as it was where she won her last title before Melbourne. Today, the champion of the Spanish capital again showed serious hesitation, but her nerves were strong enough to withstand the attack of last year’s Australian Open semi-finalist, Magda Linnet, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in just over 2 hours of play.

The match started promisingly for the former number 1, who managed to break even in the second game of her opponent’s serve. Although after that the favorite started to make quite a few unprovoked mistakes, the Pole was not able to return to the game. Healthy nerves helped Sabalenka to keep her lead until the end and thus lead with 6:4.

The mistakes of the champion of Madrid did not go unpunished in the second set. The world number 48’s game saw a major improvement, allowing her to dominate for the majority of the match. Inspired by the events on the court, Lynette improved her game with each passing minute and did not allow her famous opponent to turn. Thus, with a score of 6:3, the sets are tied

Despite the reversal, Sabalenka managed to mobilize in the third part. The Pole continued to impose a solid pace, but the world number 2 also showed a significantly stronger game. This ensured an even battle for almost the entire set. The eighth game, however, turned out to be the key to the development of the match, as it was then that the two-time “major” champion made a breakthrough, and in the next she was completely flawless, and in this way, with 6:4, the Belarusian qualified for the next round, where she will await Kate Boulter or Robin Montgomery.

Here’s how to watch all tennis matches for FREE