Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff escape with three-set wins in Madrid Open

Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 24, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek reacts during her round of 64 match against Philippines' Alex Eala REUTERS/Juan Medina

Polish No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek and American No. 4 Coco Gauff bounced back from first-set defeats to win their respective matches in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday in Spain.

Swiatek, the defending champion in Madrid, rallied past Filipina teenager Alexandra Eala 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Eala had defeated Swiatek in straight sets in their first meeting last month in the Miami Open quarterfinals.

Swiatek had six aces to Eala's three on Thursday and persevered as Eala saved 9 of 16 break points, including 5 of 6 in the first set.

"It wasn't easy to get into the rhythm and feel the right timing, so I'm happy that I was just patient," Swiatek said.

Gauff, meanwhile, faced Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine and was blanked in the first set before charging back for a 0-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory.

Gauff had nothing going for her in that first set but won 10 of 13 first-service points in the second set. She got out to a 3-0 lead in the third, only for Yastremska to win the next three games. Yastremska also saved three match points while down 5-4 and extended the match before Gauff finally put it away.

Gauff's countrywoman, No. 5 seed Madison Keys, got past Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-4, 6-3. Russian No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva was a 6-3, 6-4 victor over Czech opponent Marie Bouzkova.

No. 11 seed Emma Navarro of the U.S. beat Australia's Maya Joint 7-5, 7-5, while No. 13 Diana Shnaider of Russia blew past Katie Volynets 6-1, 6-2.

A trio of upsets took place Thursday: Switzerland's Belinda Bencic beat No. 20 seed Clara Tauson of Denmark 7-5, 7-5; Anastasija Sevastova took down No. 23 seed Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (2), 6-2 in a battle between Latvians; and Ann Li of the U.S. staved off Canadian 25th seed Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Also moving on were No. 16 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil, No. 18 seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia, No. 19 seed Donna Vekic of Croatia, Polish No. 27 Magdalena Frech, Russian No. 30 Anna Kalinskaya, Czech No. 31 seed Linda Noskova and unseeded Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva.

--Field Level Media/Reuters

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