Exciting Matches Ahead at Mutua Madrid Open Round of 16

Madrid, Spain — The Mutua Madrid Open’s Round of 16 is set for an action-packed day on Monday, featuring 16 players, including four of the top five seeds.

The matches begin with No. 4 Coco Gauff facing Belinda Bencic at 11 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET). The two are tied in their head-to-head record at 2-2, with Bencic winning their last encounter in the Indian Wells Round of 16 this year.

At the same time, No. 7 Mirra Andreeva will meet Yuliia Starodubtseva, marking their first professional matchup. Following this, No. 2 Iga Swiatek will challenge No. 13 Diana Shnaider at 1 p.m. local (6 a.m. ET), also a first meeting.

No. 5 Madison Keys is scheduled to take on No. 19 Donna Vekic at 1:30 p.m. local (6:30 a.m. ET). Keys leads their head-to-head 3-1, including a recent victory last month at Indian Wells.

Later in the day, No. 24 Marta Kostyuk will face Anastasia Potapova at 3 p.m. local (9 a.m. ET), with Potapova holding a 2-1 advantage in their past games, though they have never faced each other on clay.

At 4 p.m. local (10 a.m. ET), the top seed, Aryna Sabalenka, will take on Peyton Stearns. Their previous match ended in a tight three-set battle at Indian Wells last year.

In the late evening matches, No. 21 Ekaterina Alexandrova faces Moyuka Uchijima at 7 p.m. local (1 p.m. ET), and No. 17 Elina Svitolina squares off against Maria Sakkari at 9 p.m. local (3 p.m. ET). Their last match took place nearly four years ago.

The stakes are high in this thrilling tournament, promising memorable performances and potential upsets as players vie for advancement.