Not since 2011 has Maria Sharapova lost on clay to an opponent other than Serena Williams. She also entered her second-round match in Madrid without ever having lost a set to her opponent, Christina McHale. Sharapova had dominated McHale when the two women met at this tournament last year, and a Stuttgart title two weeks ago sent her soaring into this year's event on a wave of confidence.

All of those trends looked certain to continue after a resounding first set for the Russian. Sharapova did not face a break point as she swept through the set for the loss of only one game. By contrast, McHale struggled to protect even her modest first serve against the firepower across the net. But the young American showed her resilience by digging into the second set and holding serve reliably as her opponent's serve declined.  Neither player dropped serve during the first nine games of that set, but Sharapova saw her first-serve percentage dwindle and double faults increase. Those trends seemed ominous when she served to stay in the set at 4-5, and McHale scored her first break of the match to win a set from this elite opponent for the first time.

Not content with that achievement, the American built on her breakthrough to secure a 4-1 lead in the final set. Just as a monumental upset started to look possible, however, Sharapova reined in her serves and groundstrokes. No deficit daunts the steely Russian, who swept the last five games of the match after McHale had claimed six of the previous seven. Sharapova extended her winning streak to seven straight matches as she set up a clash with fellow Grand Slam champion Samantha Stosur in the final 16.

But the intrigue had not ended in the Tuesday day session at the Mutua Madrilena Open. Spanish fans surely thrilled at the thought of seeing their second-ranked man, David Ferrer, face a compatriot in Albert Ramos. Nevertheless, few observers expected much drama from a match between a top-10 stalwart and a journeyman who has spent much of his career at the Challenger level. Ramos had tested the recently fallible Rafael Nadal throughout two tight sets in Barcelona last month, but few were prepared to see him battle Ferrer for nearly three hours on Manolo Santana Arena.

Only by the narrowest of margins did Ferrer slip through the first set, eking out an 8-6 tiebreak. He dropped serve four times in the second set, although Ramos needed all four of those breaks to close out another hard-fought stanza. In a departure from that trend, each man held serve regularly throughout the final set. A single break in the eighth game proved enough for the world No. 5 to outlast a countryman ranked outside the top 100. This dance with danger does not inspire much confidence in Ferrer's prospects at this Masters 1000 tournament, but he occupies the softest section of the draw after Novak Djokovic's withdrawal.

Petra Kvitova has reached the final at the WTA Premier Mandatory event before, but an uneven start to 2014 has left her at the fringes of this year's contenders. Kvitova barely emerged from her first-round match after a third-set tiebreak, and she needed to rally from losing the first set in the second round. A woman who plays more three-setters than anyone else in the top 10, she will face an intriguing third-round test against surging compatriot Lucie Safarova. The two Czech lefties can engage in a barrage of dazzling shot-making if each finds her fiercest form at the same time.

Another battle of compatriots came on Tuesday between world No. 2 Li Na and two-time major semifinalist Zheng Jie. Perhaps better known for her exploits in doubles, Zheng mounted scant resistance to the reigning Australian Open champion. Top-10 men's seeds Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori also advanced uneventfully in straight sets, while two players who shone in Munich last week struggled. Tommy Haas fell to a qualifier after winning the first set, while Fabio Fognini became the seventh top-20 victim of Alexandr Dolgopolov this spring. Polish phenom Jerzy Janowicz also saw his slump deepen to eight consecutive losses as he yielded to fellow ball-bruiser Ernests Gulbis.