Sakkari stuns Bertens in Charleston
Maria Sakkari upset world number six and defending champion Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, 7-6 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, South Carolina.
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Bertens came into the match as the number two seed in the tournament, and held a 3-2 head-to-head record against Sakkari. She got off to a tremendous start, going up 4-1 and 5-3 in the first set. The Greek fought back to force a tiebreak at 6-6. In that tiebreak, Bertens led 5-1 and even held four set points, but the resilient Sakkari kept battling and ultimately won it 10-8.
Sakkari went on to take the second set 6-3, thus advancing to her first quarterfinal since September. Break point conversions made the difference in the match, as Sakkari converted six out of seven, while Bertens converted on just four of 11 break points.
This victory marked just the third in Sakkari’s career over a top 10 opponent. One of those wins took place in 2017 at the Wuhan Open, where she beat then world number six Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. Wozniacki, currently ranked number 13, will be Sakkari’s quarterfinal opponent. It should be noted that Wozniacki was a former world number one, and won the title in Charleston back in 2011.
Earlier this week, Sakkari defeated Switzerland’s Conny Perrin 7-5 3-6 6-1 in the opening round. She then defeated 2014 Charleston champion Andrea Petkovic of Germany in the second round, 6-3 6-0.
