World number 80, Lara Arruabarrena edged past 15 year old Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk 6-3 4-6 6-2 to advance to the second round in Madrid as Elina Svitolina and Caroline Garcia edged through.
The Spaniard recovered from an early break down to win four games in a row as she used the width of the court to her advantage. Kostyuk, who was the youngest player in history to enter the Mutua Madrid Open, couldn’t find her game as unforced errors flew from the Ukrainian’s racket. The 1st serve was also missing on a regular basis for the world number 134 as she was once again broken at the end of the set as Arruabarrena wrapped up the opening set in 30 minutes.
The second set was much better from the teenager as she dictated play cleanly with her forehand as she looked to find her way back into the match. Some more big hitting saw Kostyuk break to love in the third game for a 2-1 lead and a much needed advantage. Despite wasting break points, the 15 year old closed out the second set, 6-4, to level up the match.
The third set saw a share of breaks as both women became more aggressive with their shot making and made aggressive tactics. However in the end the world number 80 was too good and tactical for Kostyuk as she won the last four games to seal victory and her place in the second round.
The Spaniard brought delight to the home crowd in Madrid as she moves into the next round, where she will face 11th seed Julia Goerges, who defeated Timea Babos 6-2 6-4.
In other key results 4th seed, Elina Svitolina cruised into the second round after an easy 6-2 6-2 victory over the wounded Alize Cornet. Cornet suffered with back and thigh injuries as her Ukrainian opponent raced to victory in 1 hour and 11 minutes. She will now play Carla Suarez Navarro or Barbora Strycova in the next round.
Also in action was 7th seed, Caroline Garcia as she eventually cruised past Slovakian, Dominika Cibulkova 6-1 7-5. The 24 year old hit 7 aces as she set up a second round encounter with Croatia’s Petra Martic.
