Elise Mertens moved into the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open on Friday with a straight-sets win over Alexandra Eala, rolling to a 6-2, 6-1 victory in 1 hour, 16 minutes.
The No. 19 seed broke Eala in her first service game and never let go of the match. Mertens added another break in the seventh game of the opening set, then struck twice to begin the second set before closing with a third break in the seventh game. She saved the only break point she faced and converted five of her 11 break-point chances, a sharp return showing that left little room for Eala to build any pressure.
The result improved Mertens to 2-0 in the head-to-head series against Eala and lifted her to 13-7 in singles this season. It also sent her one step closer to matching the run she made in Madrid in 2021, when she reached the quarterfinals.
Mertens had played Eala only once before on the WTA Tour, but Friday’s meeting never offered much doubt after the early break. The Belgian controlled the baseline exchanges from the start and kept the Filipino teenager under pressure on serve throughout the afternoon.
Next up is Karolina Pliskova, who beat Maria Sakkari 6-4, 7-6 in 1 hour, 31 minutes to reach the third round. Their match will be the eighth career meeting between Mertens and Pliskova, the first since 2023, with Pliskova holding a 4-3 edge. Pliskova was playing in Madrid for the first time since 2022 and has reached the semifinals there once, in 2018.
For Mertens, the task now gets more familiar and more demanding at the same time. Pliskova has had the better of their rivalry, but Mertens has already shown in Madrid this week that her game is settled and her timing is sharp.