Former French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova wins a main draw match after 15 months

Former French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova earned a hard-fought victory over Jimenez Kasintseva at the Madrid Open on Wednesday, April 26. The victory ended the Russian's extended run without wins in the main draw over the last 15 months.

Pavlyuchenkova cruised effortlessly through the first set in just seven games. However, Kasintseva fought back in the next set to even things out.

With everything to play for in the decider, both players gave their all, with Pavlyuchenkova eventually prevailing over a spirited Kasintseva, 6-1, 6-7(5), 7-6(7).

Pavlyuchenkova's previous win in the main draw came back in January 2022 at the Australian Open. She defeated Samantha Stosur and Anna Bondar in the opening rounds before losing to Sorana Cirstea in the third round.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's drastic fall on tour was a consequence of a left knee injury she picked up after the Melbourne Majors last year. The injury-induced sabbatical saw her skip the rest of the season in May.

Taking to social media then, the Russian lamented her withdrawal from the remaining tournaments last year.

"I’m very sad to say that I’m forced to withdraw from Roland Garros and the rest of the tournaments this year!," Pavlyuchenkova wrote. "I have been playing this in my head for the last week and it has been a really tough decision to make, as Roland Garros was always very special to me , especially after a dream run last year!"

Pavlyuchenkova also claimed that the injury had limited her both mentally and physically.

"Due to the pain for a long time, now the injury is limiting me physically and mentally to compete and practice fully. After rehabbing for months this year and only played at 3 events, the last two tournaments showed me that the pain was still there and I wasn’t ready," she added.

Pavlyuchenkova returned to the tour at the Adelaide International 2 this year.

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Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to face Daria Kasatkina in the Madrid Open 2R

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will face fellow Russian Daria Kasatkina in the second round of the Madrid Open on Friday, April 28. This will be their fifth meeting on tour.

The duo first squared off at the 2015 Kremlin Cup, which saw Pavlyuchenkova register a comeback win over Kasatkina. However, the latter emerged victorious in the three meetings that followed.

Eighth seed Daria Kasatkina earned direct entry to the second round of the Madrid Open. She comes into the tournament on the back of a straight-sets loss over Paula Badosa in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix first round.