Maria Sakkari had a perfect start to her first-round match at the 2023 Wimbledon against Marta Kostyuk, but she couldn't translate it into a victory.
On a day with another set of delayed and cancelled matches, the eighth-seeded Sakkari and one of the highest-ranked unseeded players in the WTA draw, Kostyuk, were lucky enough to finish their match despite also having to come onto the court multiple times.
Sakkari, who started to working with new coach, started the match perfectly. The Greek used three of her five break point chances in the opening set, while saving all three break points of her opponent. Thanks to that, she was able to win the first set 6-0 and get off to a perfect start.
But Kostyuk was determined to fight for the second-round spot. There were multiple breaks in the second set, but eventually, the Ukrainian was the player who got the upper hand. She got the crucial break in the eleventh game, to win the second set 7-5 and take the match into a decider.
After a second-set heartbreak, Sakkari couldn't find her footing in the third set. The Greek won the opening game, but she then lost the following five games, facing a 1-5 deficit, which seemed to too big to erase.
Despite winning the following game, it wasn't enough for the eighth seed to win the match, losing 6-0, 5-7, 2-6 and causing the second biggest upset of this year's Wimbledon so far, after the seventh-seeded Coco Gauff lost on Monday.
While the Greek player will now need to focus on the last part of the season, leading up to the US Open, Kostyuk will want to prepare for her second-round match at Wimbledon as she'll take on either Paula Badosa from Spain or Alison Riske-Amritraj from the United States.
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