Sara Sorribes Tormo added to her tally of upsets on home soil in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open, coming from a double break down in the second set to defeat No.16 seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-5 in 2 hours and 12 minutes.

The result was the Spaniard's seventh career Top 20 win. Four of those have come on clay in Spain, and three at this tournament following her first-round wins over Madison Keys in 2018 and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in 2022. The latter year also saw Sorribes Tormo defeat Naomi Osaka en route to the quarterfinals, her best performance in Madrid to date.

Must See

This year, returning to Madrid has kickstarted a subpar season for Sorribes Tormo. Her 2024 record prior to this week was just 3-10 (2-8 at tour level), and her run so far marks the first time she has won consecutive matches since reaching the Hong Kong quarterfinals last October.

By contrast, despite former No.3 Svitolina's litany of achievements at this level, the Ukrainian has never thrived in the Spanish capital. She has yet to get past the second round of Madrid in nine appearances to date, and it is the only WTA 1000 tournament at which she has a losing record -- after today, a mere 3-9.

Having defeated one former top 3 player, Sorribes Tormo will face another in the third round, No.23 seed Victoria Azarenka. The two-time Madrid finalist came through 6-3, 6-1 against Tatjana Maria in 1 hour and 21 minutes.

Two-time finalist Azarenka bests Maria in Madrid second round

How the match was won: The contest was firmly on brand for Sorribes Tormo: an attritional affair in which the World No.55 gave absolutely nothing away. Forty-five minutes had passed before the second changeover of the match at 3-2 to Svitolina in the first set. Sixty-eight rallies went over 10 strokes, with 20 exceeding 20 strokes. Fourteen games featured at least one break point, including eight out of nine in the first set. Despite those numbers, Sorribes Tormo committed just seven unforced errors off the ground.

When Svitolina managed to find the right balance between patience and power, she delivered some terrific tennis. The three-time major semifinalis constructed points brilliantly and finished them off in style, with delicate drop shots and fizzing forehands, in the first half of the first set. In the second, she built a 4-1 lead via swarming the net whenever possible.

But the question was sustaining those strategies in the face of Sorribes Tormo's relentless consistency. The home favorite didn't just display impeccable end-range control, somehow landing her defensive shots on the baseline almost every time, but dangerous passing shots and superb touch at the net herself.

From 3-2 down in the first set, Sorribes Tormo broke free of the marathon sequence of deuce games by suddenly rattling off 16 of the next 21 points to take the set. In the second set, she overturned the deficit in similar fashion, before sealing her third match point with a backhand pass.