Sakkari smiling once more and only one win from title after breaking down in tears
Maria Sakkari has flipped the script simply weeks after she was left in tears and considering taking a break from tennis. The world No 9 stated she was completely happy to be “smiling” once more after reaching the joint-biggest ultimate of her profession on the WTA 1000 in Guadalajara. Sakkari is now only one win away from choosing up her second title. It comes after she sobbed in a post-match press convention after crashing out of the US Open within the first spherical.
Sakkari made waves when she suffered an early exit to Rebeka Masarova in New York. It was her third consecutive loss within the first spherical of a Grand Slam match and the Greek star was tearful afterwards. “Maybe I should take a break, I’m suffering on the court. I can’t make a decision now, it’s hard. I don’t have a clear mind,” the 28-year-old stated on the time.
But she determined to proceed along with her competitors schedule as regular after being overwhelmed by supportive messages from followers and from her rivals. And the choice has paid off as Sakkari is now one win away from choosing up her greatest title but.
Speaking after her dominant 6-3 6-0 victory over Caroline Garcia, the world No 9 referenced their match earlier this yr in Doha – a battle that she received in a ultimate set tiebreak. “The last one that we played was one of the toughest matches I’ve played in my career,” she stated.
But Sakkari had a special aim in her semi-final towards the Frenchwoman, as she admitted that she simply needed to take pleasure in herself after a troublesome few weeks. The second seed in Guadalajara continued: “I have to say that my goal today was to smile, to enjoy, to come out here to have fun.
“Because those are the emotions I haven’t felt in a while and I kept telling myself that if you don’t feel it here in this amazing stadium, where are you going to feel it? So you know, mission complete.”