World No. 23 Maria Sakkari cruised into the second round of the Ostrava Open. Sakkari defeated Kristyna Pliskova in straight sets in the opening round and wrapped up the match in one hour 20 minutes. The Greek hammered 28 winners and won 74% of the points of her first serve.

Sakkari broke Pliskova’s serve twice in the opening set to clinch the first set 6-3. In the second set, Sakkari took a 4-2 lead after breaking her opponent’s serve but Pliskova broke back immediately to stay in the match. However, Sakkari eventually served out the match at 5-3 in the second set to avenge her defeat at the hands of Pliskova in the first round of Palermo Ladies Open.

Maria Sakkari to face Svitolina

The 25-year-old will square off against the No. 1 seed Elina Svitolina, who received a bye for her first-round match. The duo has played twice in their career with each player winning one match. Sakkari won their last meeting in the quarterfinal of San Jose in 2019.

During the post-match conference, Maria acknowledged Svitolina’s powerful game, and she expects a tough match against her. However, Sakkari admitted that she knows the way to beat her next opponent and felt confident in her game.

“Of course Elina is a top seed, and she’s the top seed for a reason. She has been Top 10 for so long because she has a great game and she’s an amazing player. But I really felt good out there today. It’s going to be a very different match, but I’ve played her once and I beat her. I know her game, and she knows my game. It’s going to be a very tough battle for both,” said Sakkari.

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Sakkari recorded her best-ever result in a Grand Slam by reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open this year. She made it to the quarterfinals of Cincinnati Masters by ousting Serena Williams and also made it to the fourth round of the US Open 2020.