Takeaways: Sabalenka fends off Linette; Rybakina cruises in Madrid

MADRID -- World No.2 and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka went the distance in her opener at the Mutua Madrid Open, defeating Poland's Magda Linette 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the second round. 

Earlier, No.4 Elena Rybakina was all business in her 6-3, 6-4 win over Italy's Lucia Bronzetti. Coming off her tour-leading third title of the season last week at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Rybakina struck 26 winners and held Bronzetti to just five. 

Here are three takeaways as two of the tournament favorites took two very different paths to the third round.

Sabalenka's good fortune: As she eyes a record-tying third title in Madrid, Sabalenka returns to the Caja Magica in search of her best stuff. She has won back-to-back matches at a tournament just once since her title defense at the Australian Open in January, with a middling 4-4 record. Those four losses all came in three-set matches.

"I feel like I kind of dropped my level a little bit with this Big Three," Sabalenka said before the tournament, referring to No.1 Iga Swiatek and Rybakina. "I feel like it's the Big Two last month."

Maybe Sabalenka just needed a little luck to break her way to get back on a winning run. She may have found that and more in her win over an in-form Linette. A finalist in Rouen just last week, the Pole played a confident match to push Sabalenka to the breaking point. But on the verge of self-destruction, Sabalenka found her way back.

Sabalenka took the first set on a net-cord winner. Then, as the duo traded holds of serve down the stretch in the third, Lady Luck smiled again. Linette was two points from leveling the set to 4-4. But serving at 3-4, 30-0, Linette let the lead slip. A powerful forehand return at 30-all gave Sabalenka break point and she converted on, you guessed it, a net cord winner, and closed out the 2-hour and 9-minute win.

Rybakina's quiet rebound: The 24-year-old has already pulled off some impressive feats through the first four months of the season. She leads the tour in titles (3), match wins (27), and finals (5). She comes into Madrid at No.2 in the Race to the WTA Finals, hot on the heels of Iga Swiatek. In fact, Rybakina has a bigger lead over Sabalenka in the Race (+565 points) than Swiatek has on her (+142).

But one of Rybakina's most impressive feats of the year has gone well under the radar. In January, coming into the Australian Open as a clear tournament favorite, Rybakina bowed out in dramatic fashion in the second round. Facing No.57 Anna Blinkova, Rybakina failed to convert six match points and fell short in a historic 22-20 deciding match tiebreak. 

Any player would be excused if they let that match linger for months. Not Rybakina. She won a title in her very next tournament in Abu Dhabi. A closer look at the stats yields a telling one: That loss to Blinkova is her only three-set loss of the season. She has won all 12 she's played since, including 11 consecutive deciding sets. 

She didn't need three sets against Bronzetti, but her resilience was still on display in the win. The Italian did well to maintain return pressure through the match, but when it cames to the big points, Rybakina showed why she's winning matches at an unmatchable clip right now. Both players generated five break points in the match. Rybakina converted four of them. Bronzetti converted two.

The defending champion has work to do: Sabalenka's goals have to stay modest as she works her way back into the form that propelled her to World No.1 last fall. Each win, regardless of opponent, round, or tournament is a meaningful one, and the three-set win over Linette gives her another chance to find it in the next round against either Katie Boulter or Robin Montgomery. 

"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it.

"I will say, I will be there, I will be fighting for every point and if I have an opportunity, I will take it. That's my mentality going into the clay season this year."

As the second round comes to a close, Sabalenka is the only one of the top four seeds to drop a set. Swiatek, Gauff, and Rybakina cruised in their first matches. A clean, no-drama win in the next round would certainly send a message that she's primed to fight for title number three.