No.37-ranked
Anhelina Kalinina continued her strong season in the second round of the Mutua
Madrid Open, posting the first Top 10 win of her career 6-3, 6-0 over No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza.
Kalinina was ranked No.165 this time last year, but the former US Open junior finalist has begun consistently delivering on her teenage promise over the past 12 months. Last summer, she compiled two separate 14-match winning streaks, the second of which took her into her first WTA final in Budapest. She said:
"I didn't expect the score was going to be like
this. I was just very focused, even during the match I was not thinking
about the score. In the first set, I felt a little bit of pressure - it
was very tough with a few balls, but when I closed the set I felt much
more confident."
She continued:
"I'm getting much more matches than in previous years, so I'm getting
a lot more experience. The more you play with these top players, the
more you feel you are at home. Last year I was playing mostly ITF
tournaments so for me, it was important to get to the Top 100."