“I know it looks silly but it means a lot to me” Maria Sakkari breaks down after beating defending champion Paula Badosa to reach Indian Wells finals


“I know it looks silly but it means a lot to me” Maria Sakkari breaks down after beating defending champion Paula Badosa to reach Indian Wells finals

Maria Sakkari

World No. 6 and the 6th seed at the 2022 Indian Wells Open, Maria Sakkari battles the defending champion Paula Badosa to reach her first-ever WTA-1000 finals. Sakkari won the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in 1 hour and 48 minutes to end the Spaniard’s title defence and make her own way into the second finals of the season.

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Sakkari has been one of the most consistent players since the last season reaching the final rounds of the tournaments but unfortunately has failed to grab titles. After a fantastic end to her 2021 season, the Greek has continued that form but is yet to win a title this season and will look to end the drought this week in the desert to claim one of the biggest Tour events.

With the first two sets split between the two with Badosa making a strong comeback in the second set to send the match in the decider, Sakkari did not allow the Spaniard to dictate terms in the third set and with both players breaking each other at 2-1 in the third set, Maria’s baseline game worked its charm as the Greek No. 1 won 4 games on the trot to wrap up the proceedings.

“I work my entire life to get to this, to the late stages of the tournaments. I know it looks a little silly to someone you know its not like I won the tournament, but it means a lot to me. I was very concerned before the match because Paula is playing differently than the other girls. She has a very heavy game. She obviously loves this tournament because she won it six months ago.

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“I had full faith and I believed in myself every single moment. I’m just speechless right now because it means a lot to me, it means a lot to my team, a lot to my family, and it’s a very special moment for my country as well,” said an emotional Sakkari during her on-court interview after having beat Badosa.

A new career high awaits Maria Sakkari

Maria Sakkari
An emotional Maria Sakkari after reaching the Indian Wells finals

With her current rank as World No. 6 the best ever, a win in the finals could see the Greek become the new World No. 2. Even if she fails to capture the title, she will break into the Top-3 reaching her highest rank so far. It won’t be any easy affair however as World No. 4 Iga Swiatek awaits her in the finals.

Iga defeated the 2015 Indian Wells champion Simona Halep in the first semi-final of the day and is now on a 10-match winning streak that began in the WTA-1000 event in Doha where Sakkari had lost to the Polish youngster in the semi-finals. With Iga also standing a chance to become the new World No. 2 if she grabs the title, it will be a thrilling encounter between the two Tour leaders.

Also Read: ‘Making the country proud’ Emma Raducanu to make her Billie Jean King Cup debut next month

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