Maria Sakkari’s No. 5 seed secured a brilliant win over a player she never met at Saturday’s Grampians Championship.
The Greek star eliminated a major deficit that sent the first set to Germany’s No.8 Angelique Kerber seed, 6-4, 6-2 and she says she won the first win her world No.1 in their three meetings.
“I have the Greeks here, which feels great! “Sakkari said in her post – match interview on the court, welcoming her strong number of supporters on Margaret Court Arena. “That ‘s the first thing I look forward to when I come to Australia, so it was great. “
“Fortunately, this is my home tournament,” Sakkari said. “I don’t have professional competition back at home, so like I said, every time I come back to Australia, it feels like I’m at home.”
Kerber picked up four of the game’s first five games before Sakkari turned the tilt around, breaking the three-time Grand Slam champion five times on the way to the 73-minute victory.
Both players relied on their backups at the early stage of the opening but it was Kerber who usually came out on top in close games as she moved on 4-1.
However, once Sakkari grinded through a close game to hold on for 4-2, she grabbed the move with both hands, winning a whopping nine games in a row to advance 6-4 , 4-0.
Sakkari never finished the game with a pre-court crosscourt winner – her 26th winner of the day.
In a semifinal ceremony, Sakkari will now face No.6 seed Anett Kontaveit from Estonia, who advanced to the last four after withdrawing Victoria Azarenka ‘s No.3 seed from their scheduled quarterback as a result. lower back injuries.
Old World No. 1 Azarenka he saved two maids points before Yulia Putintseva came out in her first game of the season on Friday, but did not take the court against Kontaveit, placing the Estonian into her 12th career WTA semifinal.
The other semifinal will be an American groove between No.7 seed Jennifer Brady and Ann Li.
Brady got through a tough game against Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic, 7-6 (5), 6-4. Both players were consistent on service, with Brady saving five of five rest points in the one-hour and 52-minute position. Krejcikova was also almost able to save rest points, waiting 11 of 12, but the man who turned Brady made the difference and made a direct impact on the Americans.
“I was pretty happy with the way I stayed really calm through that break,” Brady said, after winning. “I wasn’t really focused on the score, I was kind of just taking it in point on point. Very happy with the way I was serving today, and just looking for forehands and playing strongly. “
For Li, it will always be the WTA semifinal singles after Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, 6-3, 6-1. The World No.99 needed a marrow over an hour to get the win and post its best result so far at a WTA event.
Sunday’s two semifinal performances are the last games of the Grampian Cup. Due to the delayed schedule and the start of the Australian Open on Monday, the Grampian Cup final will not be played. The semifinals will go ahead as expected and the two finalists will receive final points and final prize money.