Sakkari lost 2-1 sets to Pegula in Doha semifinals after a big fight

Maria Sakkari put up another great fight but this time she was defeated 2-1 by Jessica Pegula. The two tennis players, who struggled with the strong winds, battled for about two hours, with the American emerging victorious.

Maria Sakkari ended her course in Doha in the semi-finals and will find herself in seventh place in the world rankings next Monday. On the other hand, Jessica Pegula will win the cup against the winner of the pair Sviontek-Kuntermetova.

The match: The match started in the worst possible way for Maria Sakkari. Pegula broke serve right in the first game and then managed a second break to take a 4-1 lead.

Sakkari had a big problem with her serve and the American took full advantage of it. Shaq got the second break back straight away, but Pegula broke again and then held to end the set 6-2.

In the second set, Pegula broke again in the first game and then held to take a 2-0 lead.

Sakkari immediately clawed back the break but Pegula grabbed another break and then held to return to a 4-2 lead. However, Sac did not give up.

Unlike in the first set, she managed to grab her second break and bring the set back to 4-4 and then take a 5-4 lead for the first time in the match.

Pegula served to stay alive in the set and Sakkari managed to get her third break of the set to make it 6-4 and send the match to a third set.

The third set started with three consecutive breaks, with Pegula holding at love first to take a 3-1 lead. Then the American made a third break.

This proved crucial as Pegula used the next two games to close the set 6-1 and qualify for the final.