Gauff Gets Her Revenge Against Sakkari To Continue Indian Wells Charge
News
Coco Gauff didn't lack motivation to beat Maria Sakkari in Indian Wells, and she was able to turn that motivation into a straight-sets win.
Gauff ended her three-match losing streak in Indian Wells this year. That's the same thing that Sakkari did in her opening-round match as well after she previously lost matches in Doha, Dubai, and Merida.
For Sakkari, this was an important tournament. She played in the final last year, and losing early would almost certainly mean leaving the Top 50 for her. To reach the final in 2024, she had to beat Gauff, and this year, the two met already in the third round.
The start of the match was very nervous from both sides. Both players struggled to find their best tennis, which resulted in four consecutive breaks at the start of the opening set.
Although both players were able to break twice, they both also lost their serve twice, which meant that the score was tied at 2-2. After that, both started winning games on their serve without any issues.
That was until the moment when Gauff led 5-4. The American player put her opponent under pressure, and she had a set point and a chance to end the first set of this third-round blockbuster.
But after the 2023 US Open champion couldn't use that chance, the first set of this match had to be decided in a tie-break. Gauff was the better player in the tie-break, controlling it from start to finish to win it 7-1, taking the opening set.
The home crowd favorite improved her performance in the second set. She broke Sakkari's serve three times, and even though she was broken once, it was still enough to have a massive 5-2 lead with two breaks.
Despite that, the final game of the match was a proper marathon. Gauff had six match points and Sakkari had four break points. The game went through eight deuces, but even that wasn't enough for the Greek player to dramatize this match.
Gauff won 7-6(1), 6-2 to reach the fourth round of this year's Indian Wells Open. During her on-court interview after the match, the 20-year-old American admitted that revenge for last year's loss was on her mind.
"Today was kind of tough, the conditions. I lost to Maria here last year in the semi-finals, so it felt good to get a little revenge today, even though I love her."
The 2024 WTA Finals was also happy about her performance, apart from the last game, which likely felt like torture for Gauff.
"Except for the last game, I thought I played a great match. Trying to look at the positives. Obviously, I am a bit disappointed with the last game, but that’s just the perfectionist in me."
Gauff will take on the winner of the match between Belinda Bencic and Diana Shnaider in the next round of the tournament.
