Sabalenka Triumphs for the Third Time in Madrid

Aryna Sabalenka is now the undisputed queen of Madrid. The Belarusian triumphed in the final against Coco Gauff (6-3, 7-6 (3)), claiming her third career title in the Spanish capital. The world number one and tournament favourite lived up to expectations, securing victory once again, as she did in 2022 and 2023, matching Petra Kvitova's record of three titles, the most successful in these courts for women. Only Rafa Nadal, with five titles across the former hard court tournament and the clay event at the Caja Mágica, surpasses them in the tournament's history.

It wasn't a brilliant final in terms of tennis, but it was highly thrilling, especially from the second set onwards. Gauff, who had a terrible first set, particularly with her serve, settled in and began to challenge Sabalenka, who started to falter with unforced errors.

The Belarusian had been near perfect in the first set, punishing Gauff's second serves with powerful shots. Once Gauff realised she couldn't let Sabalenka take the initiative and the Belarusian began missing the lines, the match evened out, and the American enjoyed a 3-1 and 5-3 lead in the second set.

At 5-4 with serve, the American had a set point she couldn't convert, which proved crucial. From 5-3, it went to 5-6, and this time Sabalenka had a match point. It was a match of swings, ups and downs, and above all, nerves, as Sabalenka's return on that championship point went two metres beyond the baseline.

She had given Gauff a new lease of life, but the American entered the tiebreak worse off than her opponent. Sabalenka, with three stunning points, took a 3-0 lead but allowed Gauff to recover with two errors and a ball she didn't chase. It was the theme of the entire match, inconsistency. Until the favourite put her foot down. Sabalenka didn't drop another point from 3-3, and with a double fault from Gauff, she secured her third title at the Manolo Santana. "It's always a pleasure to play here," declared the world number one, who with this title, combined with the current struggles of three-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek, positions herself as the main contender for the title in Paris.

Spanish Marcel Granollers and Argentine Horacio Zeballos claimed their second Madrid Masters 1,000 title on Saturday by defeating Salvadoran Marcelo Arévalo and Croatian Mate Pavic 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

The final, much easier than expected, was decided by a first set where the Spanish-Argentine pair capitalised on the only break and in the second set, they overturned a 0-3 deficit to win comfortably. Granollers and Zeballos, who won this title in 2021, defeated the world number ones and last year's Roland Garros champions, climbing three spots in the rankings to become the seventh-best pair in the world, and positioning themselves as favourites for the upcoming Roland Garros.

The Paris Grand Slam is the major goal for Granollers and Zeballos, who have lost three finals and also know what it's like to be number one, a position they reached a year ago at this Caja Mágica.