Sakkari fires her way into semis

Greece's Maria Sakkari is the eighth and final player to qualify for the WTA Finals. PHOTO: AFP

GUADALAJARA – With her “fire, heart, and courage”, fourth seed Maria Sakkari overcame Veronika Kudermetova 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 to reach the Guadalajara Open semi-finals on Friday and grab the eighth and final spot at the year-ending WTA Finals.

The Greek saved 14 of 15 break points on the night to outclass her determined opponent and will join Iga Swiatek, Ons Jabeur, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Caroline Garcia, Aryna Sabalenka and Daria Kasatkina at the season finale.

“Without fire, you cannot win these matches,” said Sakkari, whose victory denied her opponent a debut singles appearance at the tournament in Fort Worth.

“Without heart, without courage, without going for it and being brave you cannot get these opportunities, you cannot win them, you cannot do things like the one today. My heart, my fighting spirit. These are the two things I’m mostly proud about.”

She will next take on Czech Marie Bouzkova, who advanced to the semi-finals after Russian Anna Kalinskaya retired.

The WTA Finals, featuring the world’s top eight singles players and doubles teams, will run from Oct 31 to Nov 7.

Earlier, experience triumphed over youth as two-time Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka, 33, beat 18-year-old American Gauff 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-3 to stay on track to end a two-year title drought.

The Belarusian kept her poise under a barrage of powerful serves as the world No. 7 lobbed 10 aces across the net. She broke down Gauff’s stout defence to convert on five of 13 break-point chances and set up a meeting with American Pegula.

“She served really well, she was mixing a lot so I was trying to adjust,” Azarenka said. “I tried to just stay consistent and not get down on myself.”

Gauff, who reached her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros in 2022 before losing to Swiatek, drew praise from the veteran.

“I was just thinking... she’s the same age as my career so it felt pretty interesting,” said Azarenka. “She’s such a great athlete, I can’t wait to see how far she can go.”

Pegula has been playing the best tennis of her career in 2022 and showed no signs of losing that momentum on Friday when she rolled over compatriot Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-2.

The quarter-finalist at the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and US Open set the tone when she broke Stephens immediately to open the first set and dropped only three of her first-serve points in the second frame. REUTERS

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