Elise Mertens is safely through to the Madrid Open 2026 third round at the expense of Alexandra Eala, who was knocked out on Friday (24 April).
Mertens, the 19th seed at the WTA 1000 tennis tournament, is safely into the next round with a 6-2, 6-1 win in one hour, 16 minutes.
The Belgian will play two-time Grand Slam finalist Karolína Plíšková, after the unseeded Czech took out the No. 33 seed, Maria Sakkari.
Ranked as the world’s top women’s doubles player, Mertens sealed her 13th singles victory of the season in an impressive display against the unseeded Eala.
Mertens was clinical on her serve, winning 81 per cent of first serve points and 72 per cent of service points. Her accuracy was key in converting five break points at the Caja Mágica and breaking any rhythm that her Filipina opponent could create.
Eala was 40-love up in the opening game before slipping to a break, suffering another crucial break at 5-2 before the Belgian converted the set. The 20-year-old was broken again to start the second set which led into a double break by Mertens.
The No. 19 seed was in control all match and showed real grit on the longer rallies to maintain that momentum until the end for a solid victory.
Mertens will turn attention to the doubles competition with partner Zhang Shuai, where they could meet Olympic silver medallists Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider in the round of 16.