“I think she’s loving it here” – Maria Sakkari delighted over her grandmother’s presence at WTA Finals
Maria Sakkari has been enjoying the company of her mother and grandmother at the ongoing WTA Finals.
In a recent interview with Tennis Channel, Sakkari was asked about her grandmother's game and how she had contributed to the World No. 5's career.
In response, Sakkari shared how, despite her husband being a Davis Cup player and having coached Sakkari and her mother, her grandmother had only ever played tennis once in her whole life.
“I’ll tell you something that is shocking she has only played tennis once. Her husband used to be a, I mean my grandfather used to be a Davis Cup player, my mom’s coach, my coach and she has only played tennis once but she has been watching tennis her entire life,” Maria Sakkari said.
Sakkari also spoke about how much her grandmother is relishing her time at the WTA Finals and added how she gets up in the middle of the night to watch not only her granddaughter's matches but all matches.
“She wakes up in the middle of the night to watch all the games, not my games, like every single game. That’s her passion, that’s how you no, she enjoys her time off and I think she’s loving it here,” she added.
Maria Sakkari and Aryna Sabalenka advance to knockout stage of WTA Finals
Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5 to keep her hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the WTA Finals alive. A straight-sets win for Maria Sakkari over Ons Jabeur in the following match meant that Sabalenka qualified for the semifinals.
“I’m just happy that I was really focused from the beginning to the end and I was able to finish this match in two sets,” said Sabalenka after her win over Pegula.
“I’ll try not to watch it, forget about tennis for a while,” added Sabalenka on Sakkari and Jabeur’s match.
After her win over Jabeur, Sakkari, who took the top spot in the Nancy Richey group, said that she was playing fearless tennis and trusting her ability.
“I’m trusting myself, I’m just fearless on the court and I am enjoying myself here," Sakkari, who has not dropped a set in Fort Worth, said in her on-court interview.
“There is no secret behind how I am playing but I think it was about time just to start playing good again and I am very happy that it’s actually happening here," she added.
Maria Sakkari will take on the winner of Saturday’s winner-takes-all contest between Caroline Garcia and Daria Kasatkina in the semifinals, while Aryna Sabalenka will square off against World No. 1 Iga Swiatek.