Tatjana Maria defeated Peyton Stearns 7–6, 2–6, 7–6 in the first round of the Madrid Masters 1000 on clay on 23 April 2024, recording an upset victory against the pre-match favourite. Stearns entered as the odds-on favourite at 1.48, but Maria, at 2.82, proved the stronger competitor across the three-set encounter. The match was tightly contested, with both players claiming a tiebreak; Maria claimed the opening set via tiebreak before losing the second decisively, then regrouped to secure the decider in another tiebreak. The result demonstrates Maria's resilience and capacity to perform on clay against seeded opposition at Masters level.