Maria Sakkari is displaying excellent performances at the WTA tournament in St. Petersburg and it seems that she has won a special place in the hearts of the public and the organisers.
The 26-year-old Greek tennis player made the 2x2 on Wednesday in St. Petersburg, beating Ekaterina Alexandrova with 2-0 sets.
She advanced to the quarterfinals of the WTA St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy and the official Twitter account of the tournament made a post in Greek, for the sake of the top player of the board, writing: "Maria, we love you!".
Μαρία, σε αγαπάμε💙🇬🇷@mariasakkari @WTA #SPBLT2022 #SPBLT #FORMULATX #WTA pic.twitter.com/qHqWAzCHc5
— FORMULA TX (@Formula_TX) February 9, 2022
In the quarterfinals of St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy, Sakkari will face Elise Mertens, No. 8 on the board, who beat Petra Martić on Thursday 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
The first set was dominated by the Greek as she dropped only a few points not allowing a single break point.
She converted to for a 6-2 finish.
In the second set, Alexandrova stepped up a little bit but she was still unable to force a single break point.
She wrapped up the match with 6-4.
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The Greek did not allow Alexandrova a break point in their match, claiming 79 percent of points off of her first serve and an impressive 73 percent of points behind her second serve.
The rivalry between Greece's highest ever ranked female tennis player and Mertens is deadlocked at four wins apiece, with the former winning the most recent meeting at Roland Garros last year.
She is coming off a career-best season, one that featured two major semifinals at Roland Garros and the US Open and culminated with a semifinal run at the Akron WTA Finals Guadalajara.
Backing up a phenomenally big year carries its own challenges, particularly against unseeded and looming players like Potapova, who made the quarterfinals as a qualifier in St. Petersburg two years ago.
READ MORE: Maria Sakkari to Marie Claire: “I know there will always be another chance to win.”
