In a dramatic showdown at the Qatar Open in Doha, Maria Sakkari pulled off a remarkable comeback to defeat world no 2 Iga Swiatek 2–6, 6–4, 7–5.
Swiatek began the match very well. She played fast and strong from the baseline. Her shots were deep and accurate. She broke Sakkari’s serve two times and won the first set 6–2.
At this point, it looked like Swiatek was in full control of the match.
In the second set, Sakkari started to play better. She served more strongly and hit the ball with more power. She moved well and stayed calm during important points.
Sakkari broke Swiatek’s serve and won the second set 6–4. The match was now tied, and both players were fighting hard.
The third set was very close. Both players won games on their serve. The rallies were long, and the points were tough.
At 5–5, Sakkari broke Swiatek’s serve. This was the key moment of the match. Then she served for the match at 6–5. She stayed calm and finished the set 7–5.
Addressing the media after her victory, this is what the 30-year-old said, “ I kept telling myself that I’m playing well. Tom [Hill] kept reminding me that I was playing really well. Just kept doing the same thing. I feel like you have to be very aggressive, but at the same time very solid with those players, and it worked out really well today.
“You’re always the underdog when playing against the No 2 in the world, especially where I’m coming from.
“But I kept telling myself, even after the first set, that I was playing good tennis, and that I had to stick to my game plan, and the way I was playing. I was aggressive, I was brave, and it worked out really well.”
Sakkari will now face Karolina Muchova in the semi-finals. Maria Sakkari and Karolina Muchova have played each other five times on the WTA Tour. Muchova leads their head-to-head record 4–1.
Their first meeting was at an ITF event in Sharm El Sheikh in 2016, where Sakkari won 6–4, 6–1. After that, Muchova won the next four matches.
She defeated Sakkari at the Madrid Open in 2021 (6–0, 6–7(9), 7–5), at the French Open in 2022 (7–6, 7–6) and again at the French Open in 2023 (7–6, 7–5), and at the Western & Southern Open in 2023 (6–3, 2–6, 6–3).
