In Madrid, Anastasia Potapova achieved a notable upset at the Mutua Madrid Open on Friday, defeating eighth seed Zheng Qinwen with a score of 6-4, 6-4. This victory marked the end of an eight-match losing streak against players ranked in the Top 10, and stands as her most significant win of the year by ranking.
This was Zheng`s initial appearance on red clay following her singles gold medal win at the Paris Olympics last summer. Potapova had a challenging head-to-head record against Zheng coming into the match, having lost three of their four previous encounters.
Potapova has bounced back effectively from withdrawing from a Round of 16 match against Aryna Sabalenka in Stuttgart last week due to an unspecified injury. She secured a first-round win against Ashlyn Krueger here and played convincingly against Zheng, capitalizing on five of her nine break point opportunities during the 100-minute contest.
Following the match, Potapova expressed the significance of the win, stating, “It means a lot because it’s my first win against Top 10 in quite a long time.” When asked about the exact length of her losing streak against Top 10 opponents, she speculated, “I don’t know. I would go five?” Upon being told the number was eight, she responded lightheartedly, “Well that’s not such a bad number — it is my favorite number.”
Currently ranked No. 39 in the PIF WTA Rankings, Potapova had previously claimed the Transylvania Open title in February and has now accumulated a season record of 15 wins out of 21 matches.
Despite the significance, Potapova commented that “This win doesn’t feel crazy and something out of this world.” She attributed this feeling to their previous encounters, explaining, “only because the last matches that we played it was such a battle, always the tiebreak was involved, over three hours. Maybe this gave me the feeling that I’m actually on the same level as her.” She highlighted her mental approach as key: “I think it’s just the mindset that I can do it. I didn’t try to convince myself — I knew it. That was the difference. In the key moments, I was not afraid of hitting the ball because I knew deep inside that it could be my match.”
Potapova`s next opponent in the third round on Sunday will be 32nd seed Sofia Kenin, who advanced after defeating Lulu Sun 6-3, 6-2.
Below is a summary of the performances of other Top 10 players who competed on Friday:
Paolini Advances Comfortably to Third Round
Although Jasmine Paolini and Katie Boulter had split their four previous encounters equally, their first match on clay saw Paolini clearly dominate. The sixth seed secured her spot in the Mutua Madrid Open third round by winning 6-1, 6-2 in precisely one hour.
Paolini, a finalist at Roland Garros last year, began the match quickly, hitting five winners to establish a 2-0 lead. Boulter, who achieved her first career tour-level clay victory in the first round, managed to break back after an excellent rally, sealing the game with a backhand winner.
However, that break back was Boulter`s only significant moment. Paolini then swept the next nine games, not even facing a game point. She effectively used powerful forehands and precise drop shots to exploit Boulter`s mobility. In the second set, Paolini dropped only four points through the first five games. Boulter struggled increasingly with her shot control, finishing with a total of 21 unforced errors.
Leading 5-0 in the second set, Paolini briefly faltered with two double faults, allowing Boulter to win two games. However, the Italian quickly regained control and comfortably served out the match on her second attempt. Paolini, aiming to match her best Madrid performance (a fourth-round appearance last year), will next face either 29th seed Magda Linette or Maria Sakkari.
Former Finalist Pegula Moves On
Third seed Jessica Pegula also advanced to the third round. In a match featuring the highest-ranked American against the highest-ranked German according to the PIF WTA Rankings, Pegula secured a straightforward 6-2, 6-2 win over Eva Lys.
Madrid holds special significance for Pegula, as she reached her inaugural WTA 1000 final here in 2022, finishing runner-up to Ons Jabeur. Since that time, she has added three WTA 1000 titles and appeared in a Grand Slam final at the 2024 US Open.
World No. 68 Eva Lys, who is comfortably the top-ranked German player, created six break point opportunities against Pegula in the first set. However, Pegula successfully defended five of these chances, maintaining control of her serve for the most part. Pegula was particularly dominant on return in the first set, hitting return winners almost at will and winning 77 percent of points when Lys served her second ball.
The second set mirrored the first, allowing Pegula to finalize the victory in 1 hour and 12 minutes. With this win, Pegula takes the lead in tour-level match victories for the year 2025, reaching 27 wins, one ahead of World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (26 wins).
Pegula is set to continue her campaign in Madrid with a third-round match against Japan`s Moyuka Uchijima. This will be the first career meeting between the two players. Uchijima advanced by defeating Ons Jabeur in three sets on Friday, thereby preventing a repeat of the 2022 Madrid final.
A significant outcome is possible for Pegula this week, as a successful run in the tournament could see her reach the World No. 2 ranking for the first time in her career.
