“This match was over an hour ago,” Confident Maria Sakkari stuns Coco Gauff to reach yet another Indian Wells final

Maria Sakkari beat Coco Gauff in three sets of 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2.

“This match was over an hour ago,” Confident Maria Sakkari stuns Coco Gauff to reach yet another Indian Wells final

Maria Sakkari (Image via Imago)

Greek tennis star Maria Sakkari exuberated confidence after her win over reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff in the 2024 Indian Wells semifinal. As Sakkari reigned supreme in the three sets after a grueling battle of two hours and 41 minutes, the Greek wished that the match ended an hour ago.

During her on-court interview, Sakkari said that it would have been better if the match ended an hour ago. Notably, the Greek ace won the first set 6-4 and then the decider 6-2. However, in between these two emphatic wins was a grueling second set.

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After claiming the opening set, Sakkari entered the second set high on confidence. However, Coco Gauff came all guns blazing to force a tiebreaker and then go on to win it 7-5. This second set pushed the match into a decider and took some extra time and Sakkari was not too happy about it as she talked about it in the on-court interview.

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I don’t want to disrespect Coco but it would’ve been amazing if this match was over an hour ago… I’m gonna take this win even though it was in 3 sets… that was an amazing win. Coco is such an amazing opponent. She’s incredible. She fights every point. I’m just so happy I’m in the final once again here.
Maria Sakkari said.

Maria Sakkari ready for the Iga Swiatek challenge, again!

With this win over Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari set herself a final clash with Iga Swiatek. The Greek ace will be meeting the Polish star after exactly two years, in the same tournament. In 2022, Sakkari and Swiatek squared up in the Indian Wells Open final, and the Pole won the match in straight sets to deny Sakkari her first title in the desert.

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Maria Sakkari, Iga Swiatek (Images via Imago)

Now, after two years, the Greek tennis star has yet again qualified for the final and will be meeting Swiatek. Sakkari said that she is excited to be back in the final.

It is to be seen if the Greek star manages to avenge her defeat from two years back or if it will be a repeat. Although Sakkari leads Swiatek 3-2 in the head-to-head record, the Polish ace has won the last two matches played between them. Also, Swiatek has started the 2024 season in a more positive way than Sakkari.