Greece’s Maria Sakkari has become the first player to secure her place in the last four at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth after brushing aside Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets.
The world No.5 was in top form throughout her 6-2, 6-4, victory at the Dickies Arena. It is only the third time this season she has beaten a top 10 player on the Tour as she closes the deficit in her head-to-head record against Sabalenka. Sakkari has won three out of her seven tour meetings with the Belarussian so far in her career but her latest victory is the first time she has triumphed in straight sets.
“I felt like I did nothing wrong from three-love,” said Sakkari, who produced 15 winners and broke her opponent’s serve five times. “Maybe I was a little bit passive, but at the same time, she started making more balls. She started being more aggressive. She was making every shot she wasn’t missing like in the first set and a half.
“I just told myself keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll get your chances and you know with a little bit of well deserved luck I would say, I managed to close out the match.”
Sakkari is yet to drop a set at the end-of-season showdown after also dismissing Jessica Pegula 7-6, 7-6, on Monday. It is the second year in a row that she has successfully progressed beyond the qualifying stages.
Sabalenka is still in with a shout of joining Sakkari in the semi-finals but must win her upcoming match against Pegula to do so. Reflecting on her latest defeat, she has hailed the performance of her rival.
“I think she just played at an unbelievable level. And I felt like I did my best in this match. Probably I could, I could play better at the beginning, but it is what it is,” she said.
“But I really think that I gave everything in this match and she just played unbelievably.’
“I kind of expected this game but not that good. She was just moving well, hitting the ball really well and not missing a lot. I tried my best, but she was just too good.”
Jabeur bounces back
Challenging Sabalenka for a place in the last four is Ons Jabeur who staged a triumphant fightback to revive her chances. The Tunisian lost her opening match on Monday which made her latest clash against Pegula crucial. After dropping the opener in just 26 minutes, Jabeur managed to turn her fortunes around to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Meaning that the American will be at the bottom of the group with no hope of reaching the semi-finals.
“It’s a difficult match against Jess,” said the two-time Grand Slam finalist. “It’s always the case against her but she was playing super fast at the beginning. I couldn’t find my rhythm. I just started to put one ball in at a time, I gained more confidence and I had opportunities in the second set that helped me win it. And then afterwards I didn’t want to make the same mistake that I did in the first set so I was playing much better.”
Jabeur, who is the first African woman to qualify for the WTA Finals in over 20 years, has only won two out of her past nine meetings against top 10 players on the Tour. She also defeated Sakkari earlier this year at the Italian Open.
One of the talking points of the tournament so far has been the crowd attendance with some fans criticizing the crowd size. Although the event has attracted more fans since the opening day. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, WTA CEO Steve Simon commented that this year’s venue is ‘probably a little bit for us, but a beautiful arena.’
“You know what? I just discovered that we don’t have a lot of tennis fans in the area. I wanted to watch tennis a couple of times in restaurants and they didn’t even have the channel, which is crazy.” Jabeur commented on the issue.
“But I’m pretty proud that a lot of people came from the city. Most people are interested in football and everything. Hopefully one day we’ll have more of a crowd.’
“People are really enjoying it here. And it’s nice to see. I see the positive side of it.”
The final round of matches in the Nancy Richey Group will take place on Friday.
