MADRID – Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk clinched her first WTA 1000 title and third career singles trophy, overpowering Russia’s Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in a tense 80-minute battle on Saturday to cap a flawless Madrid Open run.
Kostyuk, fresh off victories in Austin last year and Rouen weeks ago, dominated with ferocious aggression from the baseline, stepping forward to unleash punishing groundstrokes that overwhelmed the eighth-ranked Andreeva, who turned 19 this week but faltered under title pressure.
The 23-year-old Ukrainian grabbed early control in the first set, breaking for 4-2 after Andreeva’s error streak in the sixth game. She extended to 5-2 but faced drama serving for it, saving two break points before a double fault leveled things – only to regroup and seal the set 6-3 after 34 minutes.
“It feels unbelievable to stand here,” Kostyuk beamed post-match. “My team has backed me through everything. Stats-wise, I was nowhere near this level before – now I’m playing the best tennis of my life.”
The second set delivered a thriller. Andreeva broke first with unforced errors from Kostyuk, then broke back immediately after a double fault to tie 1-1. She pushed to 3-1 when Kostyuk botched a simple overhead, staring in shock as the Russian seized momentum.
Kostyuk refused to fold, breaking triple break point for 3-3 and turning it into a mental duel. Serving at 5-4 to force a tiebreak, Andreeva reached deuce with brilliant rallies, wasted a set point on error, then earned another with a screamer, but Kostyuk fired back-to-back aces to hit 5-5.
The decider came when Andreeva double-faulted at 5-6, handing Kostyuk the break. Ice-cool, the Ukrainian served out victory without flinching, her power and poise proving too much for the prodigy often burdened as favorite.