Masarova – Sakkari 1-2: After a great fight, Maria reached the fourth round of the Madrid Open

In a match where nothing went according to her wishes, Maria Sakkari managed to win a 2-1 set win over Masarova and advance to the fourth round of the Madrid Open where she will face Paola Bandosa (No. 42).

Masarova put on an excellent performance, giving the world No. 9 a hard time, but Sakkari, showing her fighting face, pulled off another surprise in 2023.

The match: Clearly Maria Sakkari wasn’t on her best day and struggled a lot in the games she served in. Typically, Masarova grabbed a break point in each of them in the first set.

Eventually, the world No. 74 caught a break in game six to lead 4-2, then held at love to end the set 6-3.

Sakkari was constantly looking for solutions as many things she tried didn’t work, so she looked to where Tom Hill was sitting. He, in turn, challenged them to become more aggressive in their game.

Sack broke down to take a 3-1 lead, then held at love for 4-1. Masarova didn’t give up, reclaiming the break in game eight to make it 5-3, but Sakkari responded with the same coin and then held her serve to 1:1 at 6:3.

In the third set, Maria Sakkari got off to a perfect start after breaking Masarova’s serve and then holding for a 2-0 lead. Then the 27-year-old Greek managed another break to take a 4-1 lead.

Masarova managed to recoup a break to cut to 4-2 and then held at love despite pressure from Sakkari to make it 4-3. There, Sakkari showed composure and with back-to-back games won, managed to end the match and herself to qualify for the qualification.