"To be honest, after that match, it was devastating. I was very sad, but not for long" - Zeynep Sonmez shrugs off Stuttgart disappointment to prevail in Madrid Open first round

Zeynep Sonmez did not enjoy the simplest first round matches at the Madrid Open. However, she was able to banish the disappointment of Stuttgart with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Carlota Martinez Cirez to set up a showdown against another Spaniard.

Sonmez broke twice in the opening six games, but each time was pegged back instantly. She was under the cosh when Martinez Cirez won three games in a row to give her a chance to serve it out, but the Turk responded brilliantly. She prevented this outcome from occurring before surviving a trio of set points enroute to winning the first set. The second set was much more straight forward. After going 2-1 down, Sonmez won the remaining five games while surviving break points from her Spanish opponent to get over the line.

It was her maiden win in this tournament. She did it the hard way, admitting it was not the easiest of tasks. "It was definitely not easy," she told the Tennis Channel. "She was playing great, and I was struggling to find my rhythm a little bit. I was trying to play some longer rallies to get into rhythm, but yes, I was struggling in the first set."

It did not help that her knowledge on her lesser known opponent was not very high. "I didn’t really know her. I knew she was Spanish, and my coach told me she likes to run around her forehand. So I was like, okay, I’m playing someone very difficult—Spanish. I think she played great. She started the match strong, and I started very slowly. I was struggling to find my rhythm, and I didn’t know much about her, so I think that affected me too."

There were frustrations and questions circling around the 23-year-old's head when going 5-3 down with her opponent serving for the first set. However, she showed real grit and determination on court to turn the situation around, portraying a strong mentality.

"I was like, 'Oh my God, I have to work quite a lot right now. Why did I put myself in this situation?' But I was trying to stay positive. I kept telling myself what my team was telling me—to go in, be aggressive, be brave."

This was not easy in the position that she found herself. "I said to myself, 'I’m not playing well—it can’t get any worse than this.' So it’s better if I do what my team tells me. At least after the match, even if it doesn’t work, I can say, 'Guys, you told me to do that, so I did it'," she laughed. "Put the blame on them! So I went for it, and I’m glad I was able to turn it around."

There was a feeling of a missed opportunity in the Stuttgart Open. Her hopes of driving off into the sunset with a Porsche was abolished after a painful defeat against Leylah Fernandez, who was painfully out of form.

In the third, Sonmez took a 5-2 lead over her Canadian opponent, almost certain to see the match out. However, the former US Open finalist came charging back. She made it 5-5 before breaking back as Sonmez mustered up another chance to serve it out. A thrilling tiebreak saw Sonmez leading 5-3 at one point, but in the end losing 7-5 as Fernandez marched on.

Multiple openings were not taken that day. However, that was not on her mind going to Madrid. "Not really, no—I wasn’t thinking about it," she admitted. "To be honest, after that match, it was devastating. I was very sad, but not for long, because I thought I played a great match and Leylah played incredibly too. It was a great match. But to this day, I’m still a bit sad that I lost it. Still, I think you learn a lot from those matches, so I’m trying to look at it in a positive way."

Her fortunes have turned around in the Spanish capital. She has another home favourite in the second round, this time Cristina Bucsa. The pair met in the Merida Open, a tournament Sonmez has won in 2024. It was not to be this time around as Bucsa got the in in straight sets enroute to winning the title herself.

On a different surface in front of a Spanish crowd, Sonmez was excited for the challenge. "She’s having a great season so far," she said. "I’m excited—it’s going to be a new challenge. I know her, which is great, and she knows me too. We’re going to play in Spain, so I hope to enjoy it. I always say I play better when I enjoy being on court, so my biggest wish is to enjoy it."

With the tournament being played at high altitudes, many players fiddle around with their racket setups, adjusting the string tension. For Sonmez, this is all a foreign language to her. "I have no idea about my tension," she stated. "I love it—I don’t know what it is. My coach and my team know, but I don’t. They just hand me the rackets, and I play."

She lets her team deal with that and just gets on with the tennis. "I told them, 'Guys, I don’t feel much difference.' Once it happened—they were supposed to string it at 23 kilos, but it was actually 20. I was like, 'Oh, the ball is flying quite a bit today—maybe something’s wrong?' But I kept playing. They told me after the match. That was a few years ago. Since then, I just trust them. I say, “Don’t tell me.” And they don’t."