Sakkari: “In the summer, when I wasn’t doing so well, we made a deal with my grandmother”

On the night of Thursday (November 3rd), Maria Sakkari showed an incredible performance against Arina Sambalenka and secured a place in the semifinals of the WTA final with a fantastic 2:0 (6:2, 6:4) set win.

After the game’s final, the Greek champions revealed the agreement she had with her grandmother at the press conference

“In the summer we made a deal with my grandmother. At that time I wasn’t doing so well, I was close to the final, but I wasn’t sure if I would qualify.

Then he said to me: “I don’t care where the tournament is, whether it’s in Australia or the United States, I don’t care, I’m coming!”. It was the best present for her I got for qualifying last week.

It’s really nice to have her here and of course my whole family, my team, my agent, my partner, it’s great.

I feel great. Arina is never easy to play, she is probably the most powerful player on tour. It’s been in the top 10 for a few years now and that’s a great achievement. I respect her very much and I know it’s mutual. I was very brave today, I had to keep up their pace, I think I did that well. I’m glad I made it in both sets and I’ve got my ticket to the semifinals.

This stat I saw last week helped me save so many breakpoints this year. So when I’m at a breaking point, I think I’ve done it enough times that I can do it again. I have confidence in myself, I have confidence in my serve and my hitting, especially this week. I’m feeling good, I’m confident, I’m finding my form again and I’m feeling great.”said Sakkari.

On Friday (4/11) Sakkari meets Ons Zamber to claim 1st place and absolute spot in their group.