Elena Rybakina dodged a bullet on Wednesday, saving two match points to stay in the title chase at the Madrid Masters with a 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 comeback effort over Yulia Putintseva.
The Kazakh who won Wimbledon in 2022 spent nearly three hours in posting her first victory against her rival to run her current win streak to eight straight.
Rybakina has never been this far in Madrid, stalling last season in the second round.
The winner of last month’s Stuttgart clay title leads the WTA with 30 match wins this season producing three titles, including Brisbane and Abu Dhabi in the opening two months of the year.
Rybakina has not been defeated on clay since losing to Anna Kalinskaya here a year ago in the second round.
The winner will play her sixth semi-final of 2024.
