Maria Sakkari from Greece celebrates after match point defeating Naomi Osaka in the quarter-finals at the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Sakkari defeated Osaka in straight sets to advance to the semi-finals. PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxONLY MIA20210331115 GARYxIxROTHSTEIN
Maria Sakkari will face second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the Semi-finals of the Madrid Open
Maria Sakkari hasn’t been in the best of touch so far this year. She has been good in patches but lacked consistency this season and has failed to win any silverware. However, she has displayed enormous grit and determination so far at the Madrid Open. She is coming into the match following a hard-fought victory against Irina-Camila Begu, where she came back from a set down to win 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.
Sakkari is desperate to turn things around in Madrid after two shocking first-round exits in her previous two tournaments – the Miami Open and the Stuttgart Open. She is on the correct path so far and has put up impressive displays in her previous four encounters of the tournament. However, Sabalenka is a level above most of them and it is going to be an uphill task for the Greek star against the 2nd seed.
Sabalenka has been in sublime touch this season and she has carried forward the positive momentum to Madrid. The Russian star started this year with a bang winning the Australian Open and has made two WTA finals in the last two months. The 2nd seed has dropped only one set so far at the Madrid Open and is coming into this encounter following a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory against Egypt’s Mayar Sherif.
Date – Thursday, 4th May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – 4:30 pm IST
Location – Madrid, Spain
Match details – Semi-final
Sakkari and Sabalenka have played each other eight times before on the WTA tour. They know each other’s game very well and all the encounters were closely fought but Sabalenka has earned more victories and currently leads 5-3 on head to head. On paper, Sabalenka is the clear favourite going into this match both in terms of form and rankings but we can certainly expect Sakkari to pose a tough challenge. It promises to be an intense clash and we are predicting a win for Sabalenka in three sets.
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