Maria Sakkari went toe-to-toe with Iga Swiatek, but her performance wasn’t consistent throughout the match, resulting in her defeat and elimination in the third round of the Cincinnati Open.
The Greek tennis player got off to a very strong start against the Polish player, who is ranked No. 9 in the world and No. 5 in the Masters main draw; however, she was unable to maintain that momentum and ultimately suffered a 2-1 set reversal (6-4, 1-6, 1-6) after 1 hour and 59 minutes of play.
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The match got off to the best possible start for Maria, who, thanks to her strong serving, was able to hold all of her service games. At the same time, not only did she not allow Swiatek a single break point, but she capitalized on one of the six break points she was presented with (2-3), ultimately winning the set 6-4.
Sakkari serves out the set
She takes an early lead over the reigning Cincinnati champ Iga Swiatek
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The rest of the match, however, didn’t go as smoothly, as the 25-year-old Pole drastically improved her performance and made it quite difficult for Sakkari to capitalize on her strengths. Everything was decided at the start of the second set, when Swiatek broke serve and took a 2-0 lead, before saving two of Maria’s break points in the next game to take a 3-0 lead.
At that point, the Greek player seemed to… fall apart on the court—and, above all, mentally—losing three of the next four games to tie the set at 1-1 (6-1).
The scenario was similar in the third and final set, where Sfiontek, with two consecutive breaks of Sakkari’s serve, took a 4-0 lead, going on to win the set relatively comfortably, 6-1.
The title defense lives on
Iga Swiatek is through to the fourth round after defeating Maria Sakkari
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*photo source: AP
