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
World No. 2 Ons Jabeur locks horns with the in-form Maria Sakkari in the round-robin match of the WTA Finals on Friday.
The Tunisian star had a longer break compared to the other players in her group as she did not play in the Guadalajara Open. Jabeur played her last match on October 7 in the Jasmin Open and lost to Claire Liu. The former is 1-1 in the competition at the moment.
The 28-year-old began her WTA Finals campaign against Aryna Sabalenka. Jabeur won the first set convincingly but Sabalenka managed to dig deep to win the match 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5. In the following match, Jabeur faced Jessica Pegula. After being blown away in the first set, Jabeur made a fantastic comeback to win the match 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
The 28-year-old is already through to the semifinals after having won both her matches. She had a good Guadalajara Open campaign prior to the Paris Masters as she finished runner-up.
Sakkari won her first match in the competition against Jessica Pegula. The Greek star had to dig deep to finish the match in two competitive sets 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-4). In the following match, Sakkari produced a scintillating display to get the better of Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 1-1. Jabeur won their previous meeting at the 2022 Italian Open in three sets. The other two players in this group, Jessica Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka will have their eyes on this match as their fates will rest on the result.
Prediction: Maria Sakkari to win in three sets.
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