Baptiste, the quiet strength (but who smashes rackets ^^)

Hailey Baptiste reaches the quarterfinals of the Madrid WTA 1000 with a run that says everything about who she is. Paolini taken out 7–5, 6–3 with 14 aces, a cannon of a serve, aggressive returning, match wrapped up in two clean sets. Then Bencic in a completely crazy round of 16: six match points squandered, including five in a 30-point tiebreak lost 16–14, a smashed racket, a code violation, and a third set closed out 6–3 with the same calm as if nothing had happened. Baptiste herself said that breaking the racket helped her release the tension. She’s a player who absorbs pressure in her own way, not always elegantly, but who always finds a way to move forward again.

On the other side, Aryna Sabalenka is defending her title and 1000 ranking points in a tournament where Rybakina has just been knocked out by a lucky loser. The world number one knows what the day means for the Race and she hasn’t come to Madrid to lose in the quarters. Her stats in Madrid depict a more hard-working player than usual—6 double faults and 0/1 break points saved against Osaka yesterday—but one who always finds the resources to turn around tough situations. Baptiste will serve big, hold her serve like she has all tournament, and try to unsettle her the way she did with Paolini and Bencic. Sabalenka remains the player to beat.