Sakkari eliminates Pegula and is a finalist in Washington

2023-08-05 23:16:02

WASHINGTON (AP) — Maria Sakkari blew a huge lead but rallied to win the last four games and beat Jessica Pegula 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the semifinals of the Washington Open on Saturday.

The 28-year-old Greek, ranked ninth in the rankings and fourth among the seeds, defeated the top seed in this preparatory tournament for the US Open.

Sakkari is trying to win her second career trophy on the WTA Tour and her only on hard courts. She went on to take a set and break lead, at 4-1 in the second set, before Pegula forced the third.

“Well, obviously it would have been ideal if I had walked off the court an hour earlier, but in the end I got the win, which is what I wanted the most,” Sakkari said. “In the third set I just tried to focus on the moment and take it as a new challenge.”

Sakkari will play the final this Sunday once morest Coco Gauff or the defending champion Liudmila Samsonova. The Greek has lost all five of her previous finals on hard courts.

The men’s semifinals were held later. Taylor Fritz (seeded 1st) collided with Tallon Griekspoor (12th), while Grigor Dimitrov (5th) faced Dan Evans (9th).

Fritz, Griekspoor and Evans had to win two games on Friday, a day following rain ruined virtually the entire programme.

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