MADRID: 9th seed Maria Sakkari defeated No. 31 seed Irina-Camelia Begu 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2 in the Madrid Open quarterfinals on Tuesday night to go to the semifinals.
In order to defeat the Romanian, Sakkari had to come from behind. Sakkari recovered from a gruelling opening set loss to complete the triumph in 2 hours and 52 minutes. The opening set lasted well over an hour.
Sakkari has advanced to her seventh WTA 1000 semifinal in her career after already reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in Madrid. Aryna Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, will challenge her for a spot in her third career final. Sabalenka overcame a set deficit to defeat Mayar Sherif in the quarterfinals.
Sakkari extended her advantage to 4-2, saving a breakpoint with a dipping backhand volley in the fifth game after she missed an opportunity to gain a double-break lead. This time, Sakkari gained a safety margin of 5-2 and sealed the victory.
Her strategy was completely dissimilar to any other I had encountered during the previous four years on the trip. It's difficult to face those moonballs since you want to hit the ball but are unable to do so due of your height. Tennis-wise, it wasn't as strong as yesterday, so I'm delighted it was a mental victory today. In a few days, I'll give myself a chance to play better tennis, Sakkari remarked after her tenacious victory.
For the seventh time, Sakkari and Sabalenka will cross paths. They have already faced off against one another this year, with Sabalenka prevailing 6-2, 6-3 in the Indian Wells Masters quarterfinals last month.
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