Madrid Open: Aryna Sabalenka overpowers Mirra Andreeva and keeps title defence alive in Madrid

The Madrid Open is now at the last segment with the playoffs about to be played. With the quarter-finals over, it is now time for the last four to battle it out on the court. It is time to see who will be the two finalists in the end competing for the crown this season. We have seen some great contests in the quarter-finals as well, especially in the WTA 1000 category, where the top-ranked players were battling it out.

The matchup between the world number 2 Aryna Sabalenka and 17-year-old prodigy Mirra Andreeva was one of the most anticipated matches in the tournament. While Sabalenka was the defending champion who is in the quest to win her second consecutive title and defend her crown Mirra Andreeva impressed everyone by beating some of the world's best in the WTA rankings. This seemed like a potential thriller on paper looking at Andreeva's improvement every tournament.

Sabalenka keeps the title defence alive

Even though Andreeva is an extremely talented player and beat some experienced and higher-seeded players to make the quarter-finals, it was always going to be tough going head-to-head against Sabalenka. The Belarusian was all over the young Russian as she beat her in two straight sets. Sabalenka had put the young teenager under pressure in the first set itself winning 6 games to 1. The second set saw Andreeva try to compete but in the end, it was Sabalenka who broke the service and won the one-sided encounter.

This has kept Sabalenka's title defence alive and it has not been the easiest journey for her through this tournament. This was the first game in the tournament which she had won convincingly. She will now feature in the semi-finals against Elena Rybakina who is one of her biggest rivals in the game. This will also keep the opportunity alive to finally win her first clay title this season.