Maria Sakkari has proceeded into the fourth round of the Australian Open, defeating No.10 seed Madison Keys, 6-4, 6-4.
The victory brings Maria Sakkari into the second week of a major tournament for the first time in her young career.
“I have been struggling a lot at every Grand Slam,” she said during her on-court interview. “I was getting stuck at the third round, so I’m so happy to be through to the fourth round! It was a great day for me, and a great crowd.”
This is Maria Sakkari’s eighth time entering the third round in her career, finally breaking through and securing a Round of 16 clash with 2019 runner-up Petra Kvitova after one hour and 15 minutes on Margaret Court Arena.
Sakkari and Keys faced off for the first time, with both tennis players enjoying a good start to the 2020 season. The Greek No.1 had previously pushed Naomi Osaka to three sets at the Brisbane Open, while Maddison Keys finished runner up to Karolina Pliskova at that same event.
A tight match until the fourth point, where Maria Sakkari secured a break point and continued to put pressure on the American, winning the first set 6-4.
Keys picked up her stride in the second set, leading Sakkari 4-2 with a third set surely on the horizon. Unfazed by the scoreline, Sakkari delivered powerful serves and strong returns to secure the final four games of the match.
Sakkari will face Petra Kvitova in the Round of 16, hoping to defeat her and move onto her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
“It’ll be another tough match and another big hitter. We’ve played multiple times. I really want to enjoy my day today and not think about my next round, so I’ll start thinking about my next match on Sunday morning. I just want to enjoy Melbourne and all of the people here.”
