Pavlyuchenkova wins Rabat only to fall early in Madrid

On paper, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s opponent in Saturday’s Rabat final was the No. 100-ranked player in the world. But in reality, 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, who went into the final having won nine matches in a row, was a tough test for the top seed.

Fittingly, both players were coming into the Rabat final from a title victory. Schiavone won Bogota in late April, while Pavlyuchenkova took home the Monterrey title earlier that month.

It would be the higher-ranked Pavlyuchenkova earning her second title of the season with a 7-5, 7-5 victory.

While the 25-year-old’s celebratory leap into the pool may have been easy, the match itself was not. Pavlyuchenkova was broken in her second service game, with a shanked backhand error giving the 36-year-old veteran the early lead.

But the Russian’s powerful baseline game overwhelmed Schiavone at times. It seemed like Pavlyuchenkova’s immediate break to lead 2-0 in the second set might have been all it would take, but the Italian was not done just yet.

Schiavone broke back at love in the very next game, digging into the court’s red clay to push the world No. 16 deep into the set. However, a Schiavone double fault while serving to stay in the match would give Pavlyuchenkova the victory.

Pavlyuchenkova then faced a tough turnaround, having to fly to Madrid for her first round match in the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday, less than 24 hours after her win in Morocco.

It proved to be too much. Despite battling to stay in the match, she lost to Sorana Cirstea, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5). Pavlyuchenkova's weekend has been the perfect example of the ups and downs of the game, and the intense grind of the tour's schedule.