Saturday at the Mutua Madrid Open 2014 saw a mix of both qualifying and first round action inside the Caja Magica as a three-hour marathon match between two local favorites kept the crowds on the edge of their seats.
Qualifying action commenced with the eight final matches today as Julia Görges, Caroline Garcia, Mariana Duque-Marino, Karolina Pliskova, Petra Cetkovska, Belina Bencic, Monica Niculescu & Kristina Mladenovic all secured their spot in the tournament’s main draw this afternoon.
Perhaps the most significant among the qualifying finals was the match between Donna Vekic and Kristina Mladenovic as the 17-year old Croat showed a subpar performance, serving no less than 22 double faults, leading many observers to wonder whether the Kuala Lumpur champion tried to play through some sort of injury today.
Aside from the qualifying matches, Sunday also kicked off first round competition. There was little to celebrate for Andrea Petkovic & Annika Beck as both German girls lost their sets in straights, having to pack up early after their matches against Sara Errani & Magdalena Rybarikova respectively.
There’s no question which was the match of the day inside the Magic Box as the all-Spanish duel between Garbine Muguruza & Silvia Soler-Espinosa excited the spectators and media followers alike. Losing the first set to Soler-Espinosa, it looked like the future WTA star would be upset but Muguruza rallied back through the second set and the third-set tie break, finally clinching her first round win after no less than three hours of exciting clay tennis.
While spectators got a first taste of main draw action today, tomorrow will see the big names hit the Spanish courts as the likes of Sharapova, Ivanovic, Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova are all due to start their Mutua Madrid Open 2014 campaign on Sunday.
