Day four at the Mutua Madrid Open WTA threw up unexpected drama. Between the spectacular escapes of Elena Rybakina and Qinwen Zheng, the cruise from Coco Gauff, and the breakthrough from Caty McNally, the Caja Mágica delivered on all fronts.
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Rybakina on the brink
Elena Rybakina had to dig deep to survive Elena-Gabriela Ruse. The Romanian struck first with an early break, claiming the opening set 6-4. Rybakina responded in the second with greater depth on return, establishing a double-break advantage (6-3). The decider was an emotional rollercoaster: trailing 3-1, the Kazakh clawed her way back to prevail 7-5 and reach the third round. Already a troubled path for the fourth seed.
Zheng's late awakening
Qinwen Zheng endured a nightmare opening set against Sofia Kenin. Outplayed 6-1 without finding any rhythm, the Chinese player looked in serious trouble. But as elite competitors often do, she found her spark at the critical moment. Zheng rediscovered her forehand power and ball depth to sweep the remaining two sets 6-3, 6-3. She faces Rybakina in the third round, a clash between two players who had to suffer to get there.
Gauff makes it look easy
Coco Gauff needed no drama. Against Léolia Jeanjean, the third seed delivered a masterclass: 6-3, 6-0 in under an hour. Her consistency from the baseline and returning quality suffocated the Frenchwoman's resistance. Gauff remains one of the strongest title contenders.
McNally makes history
The day's biggest surprise came from Caty McNally. The 24-year-old American, ranked 76th, toppled tenth-ranked Victoria Mboko 6-4, 6-1 in just 79 minutes. McNally had been 0-8 against the top 10 and 0-12 against the top 20 before this match. "I've been knocking on the door for a while against these great players, winning a set but never stringing together two. Today, I stayed so tough and I'm so proud," she said. Mboko, hampered by 47 unforced errors and six double faults, never settled.
Osaka and Paolini also advance
Naomi Osaka overcame Camila Osorio 6-2, 7-5 after a tense second set where the Colombian served for the set at 5-4. Jasmine Paolini, the seventh seed, came from a set down to dispatch Laura Siegemund 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. Belinda Bencic handled Petra Marčinko 6-4, 6-2, and Mirra Andreeva fought through a tight opener against Panna Udvardy before pulling clear (7-5, 6-2).
