For somebody who has as much power as Maria Sakkari has in her shot-making, it is assumed that Wimbledon would be a tournament she thrives at but this hasn’t been the case.
Coming into this year’s tournament the Greek has won just six matches in five appearances at The All England Club with her best run being to the third round twice. They are not disastrous results but far from the standards of a player who last year became the first from her country to crack the WTA top 10 and play at the end-of-year finals.
“Wimbledon is Wimbledon. It’s probably one of most special, if not the most special, tournament of the year,” Sakkari told reporters during her press conference.
“There’s something very unique about it. I’m very motivated only by being here. It’s always an honor, no matter what ranking you have, being here. It’s a great reward for what I have achieved.”
Sakkari kicked-off her 2022 Wimbledon campaign with a comfortable 6-1, 6-4, win over Australian qualifier Zoe Hives. A player who had only ever beaten a top 100 player two times in her career. Sakkari’s only blip came towards the finish line when she got broken due to some inspired hitting from her opponent who was nursing an upper left leg injury. Nevertheless, she achieved the win in just over 70 minutes with the help of 19 winners and five aces.
“I’m feeling very good. Obviously I had the chance to close out the match sooner than I did, but overall I think was a very solid performance,” said Sakkari.
As the fifth seed Sakkari has high expectations, especially given her performances at other major tournaments. Last year she reached the semi-finals of both the French Open and US Open. However, this season her results have been less sensational with a fourth round loss to Jessica Pegula in Melbourne and a second round loss to Karolína Muchová in Paris.
Although that doesn’t mean the Greek should be ruled out of title contention given the recent history of unexpected female winners at majors. Furthermore, a few weeks ago in Berlin, she reached her first grass-court semi-final on the Tour.
“I believe that on the clay I try to play with more height, try to use more my forehand. On fast surfaces like grass or fast hard court, I always try to be more aggressive, obviously trying to hit hard with both of my shots,” she said of her technique.
“Tennis is becoming a very quick sport right now, so you have to be aggressive. That’s what I’m trying to do every time I play a match, no matter what surface I’m playing.”
Sakkari’s aggressive approach to the game is one which has been enhance with the help of Tom Hill. A British coach who mentored Danielle Collins before joining forces with Sakkari back in 2018.
“Our goal is to approach the net 20 times in a match. Not serve and volley 20 times, just get to the net 20 times. Whether I can do it or not, that’s the goal. That’s what gets me into a more aggressive mindset,” she explains.
“I believe this year that’s one of the reasons why I’ve been playing good, because my mindset has changed and my whole game style has changed and improved.”
Sakkari will play Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova in the second round.
