“She is finished, retire for good” – Maria Sakkari crashes out in the first round at the US Open 2023 leaving fans angered

Spain's Rebeka Masarova stuns eighth seed Maria Sakkari in the first round of the 2023 US Open.

“She is finished, retire for good” – Maria Sakkari crashes out in the first round at the US Open 2023 leaving fans angered

Maria Sakkari (Getty Images)

The first big upset at the US Open 2023 is already upon fans as Maria Sakkari exits in the first round. The Greek was defeated by Rebeka Masarova in straight sets (6-4, 6-4).

Since her highest Grand Slam finish at the US Open in 2021, Sakkari has reached the fourth round only once, at the Australian Open in 2022. In her last seven Grand Slam titles, the tennis professional failed to go past the third round. The 8th seed has a dismal record this year with three first-round exits. 

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As expected, fans on social media were not very kind to Sakkari after her disappointing exit. One of the fans shared a post captioned, “Maria Sakkari should do the same as Kontaveit. I understand she is finished and retire for good. The 8th seed has spent 100 straight weeks in the top 10. Some fans have even asked Sakkari to split with her coach, Tom Hill.

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For the uninitiated, Rebeka Masarova started representing Spain in 2018. She has career-high WTA rankings of 66 in singles and 136 in doubles. Now that the Spanish professional has managed to enter the second round, fans have great expectations from her.

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Fans call out Maria Sakkari’s poor Grand Slam record over the last two years

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Maria Sakkari (Credits : Reuters)

World No. 8 Maria Sakkari has a 2-4 record in Grand Slams this year. Sakkari’s highest Grand Slam finish this year came at the Australian Open, reaching round 3. 

The Greek pro reached the final of the Washington Open after defeating top seed Jessica Pegula in the semifinals earlier this month. In the final, she lost to Coco Gauff in straight sets. Sakkari has particularly struggled in the Grand Slams, as this year she made the semis in Indian Wells and Madrid, apart from the Washington final.

Taking to social media, fans shared a wide range of emotions:

https://twitter.com/axnxcrst77/status/1696201267486376344?s=20

In another result, former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka defeated Fiona Ferro 6-1, 6-2. Masarova, the World N0. 71, has never gone past the second round at a Grand Slam.

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