“Really Believed in Me”: Maria Sakkari Reacts After Making History at Ostrava Open 2021

Greek tennis player Maria Sakkari has been phenomenal on the court in 2021 so far. She reached the semi-finals at both the French Open and US Open this year and has played some really brilliant tennis. Even though she failed to win a Grand Slam, she has delivered some amazing performances.

Maria Sakkari recently broke into the top-10 WTA rankings. Interestingly, it is for the first time that a Greek women’s tennis player has reached the top-10 WTA rankings. Thus, she has registered herself in the history books after ending as the runner-up of the Ostrava Open 2021.

Maria Sakkari reveals that she always backed and believed in herself

Although Sakkari is 26 years old right now, she never gave up her dream of landing inside the top-10 WTA players. In an interview with the WTA Insider, she disclosed that she always backed herself despite all the odds. She also thanked the people around her, who continuously supported her throughout her journey.

“People don’t realize how big it is for someone who at the age of 26 – not the age of 20 – cracks into the Top 10. When no one believed I could do it, myself and the people around me really believed in me,” said Sakkari.

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Sakkari at the Ostrava Open 2021

Even though Sakkari failed to win the WTA Ostrava Open title this year, she impressed fans with her amazing gameplay. She didn’t drop a single set until the finals and led a fabulous campaign there.

While she easily defeated Jelena Ostapenko and Tereza Martincova in the first and second round respectively, fans didn’t have huge expectations from her when she was up against Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals. However, to everyone’s astonishment, the Greek player thrashed her in straight sets and booked her place in the finals.

However, Sakkari was beaten in the final by Anett Kontaveit. With the points that she earned as the runner-up were enough for her to reach the 10th spot in the WTA rankings and make her nation proud.

Maria Sakkari is likely to play at the Indian Wells Masters 2021 after this. Will she be able to win the tournament and climb further in the WTA rankings?

Also Read: Were Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas Dating?