Berlin Ladies Open Day Three Round-up | Sabalenka and Pegula kick off campaigns on the front foot as Badosa stuns Gauff

Aryna Sabalenka was the main attraction in day three of the Berlin Ladies Open. She was one of the top players involved, and avoided any upset results with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Ekaterina Alexandrova.

The last time Sabalenka stepped onto the court, she was the overwhelming favourite to win a maiden Roland Garros title. She would lose 10 games in a row against Diana Shnaider in a surprising collapse and left Paris a shell of what she was. Now back on court, she was looking to put things right against another Russian.

The only break points in the set came in the first and penultimate game. While Sabalenka could not get the early advantage, she left it late to break amid winning 12 points on the trot to take the first set.

Sabalenka began the second set by breaking, but the lead was swiftly extinguished by Alexandrova. Her first round win in Berlin ended a streak of four defeats in the opening match of a tournament. It was a tall order to get a win against Sabalenka, and it proved to be. She spurned two chances to take authority in the set before Sabalenka broke to love in ominous fashion. The world number one had two chances to get it done on Alexandrova's serve, but will now try to serve it out on her terms. She breezed into the quarter-finals, marking a winning return to action.

When fit and healthy, Paula Badosa is a menace for anyone playing her. She showed her best tennis at the right time to pick up a first top 10 win since this tournament last year. Coco Gauff was the victim in a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win for the Spaniard who shows what she is capable of on a tennis court.

Gauff had not won a match on grass since defeating Sonay Kartal in the third round of Wimbledon 2024. After losing in the opening stage of both her tournaments on grass last year, she was determined not to let that occur again. In just 26 minutes, she had taken the lead. Two breaks at either end of the set spelled an ominous sign for her opponent.

However, Badosa recollected herself and put up a hugely impressive comeback. Taking a 3-0 lead in similar fashion to Gauff in the prior set, she sailed into a commanding 5-1 scoreline before Gauff mustered up a feeble comeback. Getting one of the break back, it was not enough with the buffer created beforehand beneficial for Badosa who sent the tie the distance.

The momentum did not shift hands like the first set, sticking with Badosa. After Gauff went 1-0 up, seemingly in the blink of an eye Badosa was 4-1 to the good. A hold to love left her one away from victory before getting the job done with her first match point. It was a huge win for the wildcard who is firmly outside of the top 100 in this moment in time but is starting to find her mojo on court. As for Gauff, her woes on grass continue.

That was most certainly not the same for her fellow American Jessica Pegula. The number three seed produced a commanding display to see off Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-2.

The 2024 champion was very much in the business for another. She exited Roland Garros much earlier than a lot of her rivals in a tournament full of upsets. With plenty of time to prepare for grass, she was on it from the off. She sprinted into a 5-1 lead before failing to make it six with four missed match points. Those would not be regretted as comfortable hold got her a set ahead.

There were 12 break points in total in the second set, but only one being converted. That was by Pegula before holding to go 4-2 up. Siniakova made this set more competitive and may possibly regret not taking one of her six chances. Pegula held to love to conclude a much tighter second set and send her into the quarter-finals.

Alexandra Eala and Donna Vekic were a bit behind the rest of the field. While the second round was played out, they still needed to get past the first round stage. Both with grass titles this year, it was Eala who prevailed 7-5, 6-4.

Vekic is coming off the back of winning the Queen’s Club Championships title, her first WTA triumph since March 2023. It looked to be a continuation of that form as she confidently strode out into a 2-0 lead, but Eala bounced back with four games of her own. Vekic quickly got the tie back on serve as a tiebreak seemed imminent. Eala not having any of it, breaking once more before serving the first set out.

The momentum continued with a fourth game in a row to break right at the start of the second set. Vekic could only muster up one break point as Eala safely got to 5-4 in front. She was to serve it out and did so amid a whole plethora of chances spurned by her rival. Vekic went 0-40 up but the Filippino forced deuce. Another one came and went before Eala converted a first match point to set up a showdown against the number two seed Elena Rybakina.

The joys of youth continued with Nikola Bartunkova grabbing a very respectable 6-1, 6-4 win against Elise Mertens who again loses in the second round of a tournament for the third consecutive time.

Similar to Badosa, the 20-year-old Czech was handed a wildcard for the event. She has made tremendous use of it following her win over Diana Shnaider in the opening match. She raced into a 3-0 lead before a number of break back opportunities by the Belgian were thrown away. Bartunkova won the final three games of the set, and had the advantage.

Mertens is a very experienced and quality player, and was not going to make it easy. She took a 2-0 lead before Bartunkova got back on level terms. Five holds later, Bartunkova found the crucial breakthrough. She set herself up with a chance to serve it out, and in style held to love to book a quarter-final in the German capital while getting revenge for the Australian Open defeat.