Sakkari: “Stay in the tournament as long as possible”

Maria Sakkari expressed satisfaction after defeating Nuria Paritha Dias in Linz, Austria, and stressed that her aim is to stay until the end of the tournament.

The Greek was asked and answered why she suddenly went to the bench in the second set, stressing that she wasn’t ill.

“I played great in the first set, solid from the first point. I got the break early, then broke again and that helped. 5 ahead. He played very well in the second, she was solid, so I’m glad I found solutions in the end.

What needs to change in the next game:

“I think my fundamentals were good. I didn’t do a lot of things wrong, maybe I could have hit back a bit better. Maybe I should have been bolder, more aggressive and taking risks.”

Of her sudden withdrawal in the second set, she said:

“Suddenly my nose was running for no reason. When you play indoors, you breathe differently. That happened to me last year when I was playing indoors. I’m not sick, it’s just running.”

And about your goals:

“It was sad that I had to resign four years ago, I’m happy to be back as No. 1 on the board. The pitch suits my game, I’ll try to stay as long as possible and maybe we’ll have another schnitzel!”.