Greek tennis star Maria Sakkari is moving on to the finals of the women’s singles event at St Petersburg Open, called the St Petersburg Ladies’ Trophy, on Saturday after defeating Romanian player Irina-Camelia Begu at the semifinal.
Depending on the winner of the semifinal, which is currently in progress, Sakkari could faces either Latvian player Jelena Ostapenko or Anett Kontaveit from Estonia.
The finals will take place on Sunday at the Sibur Arena in St Petersburg, Russia.
Many predict that the Greek player will take the trophy, which would increase her WTA ranking substantially.
Maria Sakkari may take trophy in St Petersburg
Sakkari, along with Stefanos Tsitsipas, is one of the biggest Greek tennis stars. In November 2021, Sakkari reached a career-high singles ranking of world number six, making her the highest ever ranked female Greek player in the Open Era.
Sakkari has won one tennis singles title on the WTA Tour at the 2019 Morocco Open, where she defeated Johanna Konta in the final. She was also semifinalist of 2017 Wuhan Open, where she defeated Caroline Wozniacki en route, her first top-10 win.
In 2019, she reached another Premier 5 semifinal at the Italian Open where she defeated, among other players, Petra Kvitová.
In 2020, Sakkari reached the fourth round at both the Australian Open and US Open. In 2021, she has reached the semifinals at the French Open and the 2021 US Open making her the first woman from Greece to reach a Grand Slam semifinal.
Sakkari is known for her aggressive, all-court style of play, centered around her strong serve and powerful groundstrokes. Sakkari served the sixth most aces of any WTA player in 2020, with 144 aces served in 31 matches.
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