2024-03-14 15:12:54
Published on March 14, 2024 at 4:12 p.m.
After eliminating Diane Parry in three sets in the round of 16 of the WTA 1000 in Indian Wells, Maria Sakkari said she was impressed by the Frenchwoman’s level of play.
After a complicated start to the season, which even made her leave the Top 10 for a while, Maria Sakkari is doing better, since she will play her first quarter-final of the year, in Indian Wells. The Greek was scared, but she eliminated Diane Parry in the round of 16 on Wednesday in California in three sets, after having a break behind in the last round. After the meeting, the world No. 9 was full of praise for the 21-year-old Frenchwoman, who will achieve the best ranking of her career next week (53rd). “I made the right choices. Staying patient and aggressive in this third set was the key. She’s a very good player. This is my first time playing it and I’m impressed. If she can develop her game, she can be Mauresmo 2.0. She plays differently from the others. This is what makes it difficult and tricky to play. » With her one-handed backhand, which has become increasingly rare on the circuit (there are only three in the Top 100), and her varied game, the FC Boulogne-Billancourt player can indeed bring to mind her illustrious elder, former world No. 1 and winner of two Grand Slam tournaments.
Parry likes to have a different style
At the start of the week, in the columns of The team, Diane Parry spoke of her style of play which is much less stereotypical than the other players on the circuit: “I like the fact of not being like everyone else. It’s not necessarily something I was originally looking for, but today I’m happy to have something a little different, recognizable for people watching. » Her coach Martin Vilar had also said in January that he wanted to make his player’s game “less pretty” but more effective. “It’s a phrase I’ve heard all my life,” smiles Parry. As a child, I loved doing beautiful things, beautiful moves, even if it sometimes cost me points. I still like doing great things today, but little by little I learned to also like winning these kinds of matches. » While she shone especially on clay since the start of her career, the native of Nice has shown since the start of the season that she can also play well on hard court. To the point of having a career at Mauresmo? Time will tell, but at Parry’s age, the current director of Roland-Garros already had two tournaments under her belt, an Australian Open final and was ranked in the Top 20 in the world.
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