Sakkari: “I’m very happy to have turned the situation around”

Maria Sakkari was completely satisfied with her big surprise against Snyder and qualifying for the third round of the Australian Open.

First of all, in his first statements on the pitch, he referred to the image of the game and emphasized: “The level of both of us was very high, I think it was a great match. She’s very young, very promising, she should probably consider not going to college.”

On the fact that she faced an athlete she had never seen before: “It’s never easy to play against someone you’ve never met before or seen on tour. I was a little hesitant, she played very aggressively. I know I should have been more aggressive, I was way behind the baseline, I ran and defending every ball, that’s not my game. But I tried to find solutions and improve my game throughout the game.”

As for how he managed to turn the game, he said: “I tried to be more aggressive, I told myself to go to the net more, that’s what my coach told me from the box. That’s how you have to play today, you have to be aggressive, be brave and take risks. Me, me I’m here for a reason, I’ve worked hard and I think I’ve shown everyone that I have a good game that I can still develop. I’m really happy to turn it around today.”

At the end he was asked again about the support of the Greek fans and he said: “I didn’t expect anything less. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but this is my hometown tournament. Every time they ask me something about the support, I say this thing, but it’s true. There are a lot of Greeks here in Melbourne and I will repeat myself every time I stand here.”