SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia – Greek Maria Sakkari (7th in the world) advanced to the final of the tournament in St. Petersburg, where she will face Estonia Anett Kontaveit (No. 9) on Sunday.
Sakkari won its tough ticket against Romania Irina Begu (56th) 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-4 in 3:04.
On the other hand, it took just 1:11 for Kontaveit to eliminate Ostapenko (25th) 6-3, 6-4, but he played the second set with an ankle injury.
“I do not even know how I managed to win this game. “But I am very happy there,” Sakkari said after his qualification.
In what will be his fourth final on the WTA track at 26, Sakkari will seek the second title of his career.
Sakkari is one of the revelations of 2021 that led her from the 20th to the 6th in the world thanks especially to two Grand Slam semifinals, the Roland-Garros and the United States Open.
Facing Contavete on Sunday, the Greek will have a tough opponent who just had a 19th consecutive success indoors, beating Ostapenko, winner of Roland-Garros in 2017.
“In front of her (Jelena Ostapenko) we had to play attacking tennis and wait for my chance. “And I played exactly like that … I will have a very difficult final tomorrow with Maria (Sakkari) but I hope it is okay …”, said Contaveit after his half.
Latvia will try to afford the sixth title of its career, after a prosperous year in 2021 with 4 tournaments it has won.
