“The conditions suited Madison well,” reveals Maria Sakkari after a gruelling win over Madison Keys at the Madrid Open
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Maria Sakkari
Maria Sakkari had to break a lot of sweat and only after that she could find a way past Madison Keys in the first round at the Madrid Open. The World No 5 defeated Keys in three sets (8)6-7, 6-3, 6-4 to progress through to the second round. It was a massive matchup for the talented Greek as she instantly knew that the condition will suit Madison Keys’ playing style and exactly that happened.
There was hardly anything to choose from in the first set but the American found a slight error and capitalised on it without any hesitation. Therefore Keys bagged the first set leaving Sakkari very frustrated as he channelised it in the right way to make a proper comeback by winning the next two sets.
After winning the gruelling encounter Sakkari was very honest during her on-court interview as th 26-year-old highlighted how the conditions in Madrid were very favourable for Madison Keys and her game style. So Sakkari was mentally prepared that it was going to be a tough first-round battle for her. She said, “I think the conditions suit Madison (Keys) well here. When I saw the draw I thought that’s a tough first round. I just trusted my game. Overall, it was a very positive match to get myself back in the winning feeling.”
Maria Sakkari eager to find her rhythm at the Madrid Open
Maria Sakkari has had a very decent hard court season this year after reaching the third round at the Australian Open, the Greek tennis star reached the finals in St. Petersburg. There she went down fighting against Anett Kontaveit but continued that form as she reached the semifinals in Qatar. She then reached the finals at the Indian Wells proving to be in majestic touch. However, she lost both the matches in Doha and Indian Wells against Iga Swiatek. Her stints in Miami and Stuttgart were underwhelming and she is at the Spanish capital to get back on track.
Sakkari needs to get that belief back and from being a consistent semifinalist, she needs to win titles and that will happen with more wins like these. Maria Sakkari will face Russia’s Daria Kasatkina in the second round at the Madrid Open.
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Atrayo Bhattacharya
(193 Articles Published)