Swiatek, Rybakina lead all-play Round of 16 on Monday

MADRID — It will be a busy day on Monday at the Mutua Madrid Open, where all eight Round of 16 matches will be played to set the quarterfinal match-ups.

Here’s a look at Monday’s match-ups.

Top Half

[1] Iga Swiatek vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo

Head-to-head: Swiatek leads 3-0

The World No.1 is looking to return to the Madrid quarterfinal for the second straight year and she’ll be the heavy favorite against the last remaining Spanish woman in the draw. Sorribes Tormo has lost all six sets she’s played against Swiatek. She has won more than three games in a set just once.

No.55 Sorribes Tormo has enjoyed her best week of the season, tallying three consecutive main-draw wins for the first time this year. It hasn’t been an easy road, but she has not lost a set to defeat Bernarda Pera, 16th seed Elina Svitolina, and 26th seed Victoria Azarenka. The 27-year-old Spaniard is looking to make her second Madrid quarterfinal, having made her first in 2022.

The winner will face either Haddad Maia or Sakkari.

[11] Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. [5] Maria Sakkari

Head-to-head: Haddad Maia leads 3-0

A semifinalist here last year, Sakkari has not lost before the quarterfinal stage of her last three tournaments. Over that span, she made the final in Indian Wells, quarterfinals of Miami, and semifinal in Charleston. She credits new coach David Witt for simplifying and clarifying her game on clay. After ending Rouen champion Sloane Stephens’ seven-match winning streak in the third round, Sakkari says she’s swinging as freely as ever.

Her newfound confidence will be tested against World No.14 Haddad Maia, whom she’s never beaten. The Brazilian appears to have turned a corner in Madrid. She’s won back-to-back matches for the first time since February, with her 6-4, 6-4 win over Emma Navarro in the previous round being particularly impressive.

A French Open semifinalist last year, Haddad Maia has already posted her best career result in Madrid. Before her opening win over Sara Errani, she had yet to win a main-draw match at the Caja Magica.

The winner will face either Swiatek or Sorribes Tormo.

[3] Coco Gauff vs. [18] Madison Keys

Head-to-head: Tied at 2-2

The reigning US Open champion won her first 17 games at the Caja Magica before things got stickier than she would have liked against Dayana Yastremska in the third round. After letting a 5-0 lead slip, Gauff rebounded quickly to win 6-4, 6-1, but she’ll need to clean up her serve to prepare for Keys. Since moving to clay, Gauff has struck 36 double faults across four matches.

Keys delayed the start of her season due to a shoulder injury. She didn’t play her first tournament until Indian Wells, but she’s made the Round of 16 in two of her four appearances this year. If Gauff’s first-serve percentage takes a dip, expect Keys to tee off on her second-serve returns and ratchet up the pressure from there.

Keys won their last meeting, which came last year on the grass at Eastbourne. Gauff won their last hard-court affair in Dubai last year.

The winner will face either Jabeur or Ostapenko.

[9] Jelena Ostapenko vs. [8] Our Jabeur

Head-to-head: Tied at 2-2

After a scintillating start to the season, Ostapenko has hit a slight cool patch. She started the year with titles in Adelaide and Linz but failed to win back-to-back matches in her three tournaments. She fixed that stat in Madrid by beating a pair of qualifiers in her first two rounds, but now she’ll put her level to the test against Jabeur.

Then again, the same could be said about the Tunisian. A champion in Madrid two years ago, Jabeur has found her best tennis this week to notch back-to-back wins for the first time this year. The two-time Wimbledon finalist has been open about her her injury issues and crisis of confidence, but her hard-fought three-set win over Leylah Fernandez in the third round was as close to the “Old Ons” as we’ve seen this year.

The winner will face either Gauff or Keys.

Bottom Half

Yulia Putintseva vs. [10] Daria Kasatkina

Head-to-head: Kasatkina leads 1-0

It’s hard to believe, but this will be just the second meeting between the two friends and the first in nearly five years. Ranked at No.50, Putintseva has been back to her best over the last month. During the Sunshine Double, she made the Indian Wells Round of 16 and Miami quarterfinals. After defeating Caroline Dolehide in the third round, the 29-year-old is into her third straight Round of 16 at a WTA 1000.

Kasatkina’s quietly strong season continues in Madrid. Only Elena Rybakina can boast more final appearances than Kasatkina’s three this year. She’s been fantastic at the WTA 500 level, but her results at the WTA 1000s have lagged behind so far. A win over Putintseva would put her into her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal of the season.

The winner will face either Rybakina or Bejlek.

[Q] Sara Bejlek vs. [4] Elena Rybakina

First meeting

Much like Swiatek, Rybakina has efficiently taken care of business in Madrid. The tour leader in titles (3), finals (5), and match wins (28) this year, Rybakina has not lost a set this week. She is a win away from her first Madrid quarterfinal. She’ll be heavily favored to do it. The World No.4 has not lost before the quarterfinal stage at a tournament since January.

Standing in Rybakina’s way is another talented teenager from the Czech Republic. Bejlek, 18, made her WTA 1000 main-draw debut after a successful qualifying run and has beaten Anna Blinkova, Anna Kalinskaya, and Ashlyn Krueger. The latter two wins were the first Top 50 wins of her career.

The winner will face either Putintseva or Kasatkina.

The remaining Round of 16 matches will be added as they are set on Sunday.

More to follow…