Maria Sakkari prevailed 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 against Irina Begu on Tuesday and advanced to the semi-finals of the Madrid Open.
The match started with Sakkari struggling to hold her serve in the first game, while in the third Begu broke and took a 2-1 lead. The Greek responded immediately and with her own break equalised at 2-2.
With a new break, Begu initially led 4-3 and then 5-3, but Sakkari answered again and equalised at 5-5. Finally, with two more breaks from the two athletes, the score went to 6-6 and the set went to a tie break.
In the second set, Sakkari won two breaks in equal games, while the Romanian managed one to give the Greek a 2-1 lead. With a new break, Maria reached 5-2 and showed that she was in complete control of the set. Begu with a break reduced to 5-4, but finally the Greek equalised at 1-1 set with 6-4.
In the third set, Sakkari took the lead from the start and took a 3-1 lead with a break. She then showed the stability that the match required and even with another break she reached 5-2, to complete the victory with 6-2 and 2-1 sets.
