Daria Kasatkina Falls 15-13 as Snigur Saves Four Match Points

Daria Snigur upset daria kasatkina 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 in the first round of the Mutua Madrid Open, surviving four match points before closing out a 15-13 third-set tiebreak. The qualifier turned her first tour-level clay-court match into a result that sends her into the second round against No. 4 seed Iga Swiatek.

Snigur’s Madrid escape

Snigur saved four match points and converted her seventh match point to finish the win. The third-set tiebreak ended 15-13, and the final set score of 7-6 shows just how narrow the margin stayed after she and Kasatkina split the first two sets.

That tiebreak was the longest regular first-to-seven tour-level third-set tiebreak in eight years. It also ranked as the sixth-longest third-set tiebreak of the century so far, which puts the Madrid first round in a small group of marathon finishes rather than a routine early-round escape.

Kasatkina and the clay context

Kasatkina came in as a former Roland Garros semifinalist, while Snigur arrived with far less clay-court experience at tour level. Before this week, the Ukrainian had not defeated a Top 100 opponent on clay until her win over Hanne Vandewinkel in qualifying.

That makes the result more than a ranking upset. Snigur handled the pressure points after falling behind four match points, and she did it in the same week she posted her first clay win over a Top 100 player on the surface.

Swiatek awaits Snigur

The next step is immediate and severe: No. 4 seed Iga Swiatek in the second round. Snigur leaves Madrid with a straight-set opening for the draw no longer possible, and with a comeback that already stands out for the 15-13 finish and the four match points she erased.