Viktorija Golubic beat Sakkari 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and 33 minutes to make it through the round-of-32. Golubic saved six of the 10 break points she faced while converting seven break points to outlive the Greek.
The Swiss finished with 99 points to Sakkari’s 95. For a place in the fourth round, Golubic will play Anna Kalinskaya.
Despite her defeat at Indian Wells, Maria Sakkari is expected to set a new Greek world record and be at least No.8 next week in the ATP rankings.