Ashleigh Barty, world number one, suffered this Saturday to go to the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open. The 25-year-old Australian needed three sets (6-4, 1-6 and 6-3) and almost two hours of game to beat the Slovenian Tamara zidansek, 23rd and 80th in the ranking.
Barty seemed to have the game under control after a comfortable first set in which he saved three break points and broke his rival’s serve to get 5-4 and serve. But in the second set, Zidansek raised the bar and found a way to upset the world leader. to score his sleeve with two breaks and without suffering in almost all his turns.
The next round awaits! 🙌
First seed 🇦🇺 @ashbarty is the first player to progress to the third round of the #MMOPEN after beating Zidansek 64 16 63. pic.twitter.com/RAv27sAS7S
– #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) May 1, 2021
Barty, the best of the year with 22 wins and only three defeats, reacted well in a third set that started with a 3-0 lead, an advantage that she was able to maintain without trouble until the end of the match. In the eighth round, she also arrived in 2019 and for which she expects a rival: the German Laura Siegemund or the Polish Iga Swiatek.