Maria Sakkari has made it to the final of the Indian Wells Masters Cup. She will be facing world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who seems to be in subliminal form. However, Sakkari making it to the final of this tournament has been an uphill task as most of her matches have been hard-fought three-setters.

Sakkari had been mulling over a life away from tennis last year and even started the season badly with back-to-back defeats. Having found her winning form, she reflects on her situation at the start of this year and how things seemed bleak.

Maria Sakkari – ‘Things can really change in a week’

In the post-match presser following her win against crowd favorite Coco Gauff, Sakkari reflects on her lack of form at the beginning of the season. She says, “Well, we always say in tennis one day can change everything, but a month ago I was in Abu Dhabi, I couldn’t hit a ball over the net, and now I’m just here in one of the biggest tournaments playing another final. It’s just that, you know, those are lessons and those are things that you have to just accept the more you’re on the tour that you’re going to have some bad times, and then things can really change in a week.”

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She further expresses her delight at reaching the final at Indian Wells, “Yeah, I’m just very happy that this has been the week that things have started changing because you know how much I love this place, and I told myself that I want to stay here as long as I can, and here we are, staying until Sunday, Monday. Yeah (smiling).”

Sakkari clinched three singles victories during the mixed-team United Cup at the start of 2024. However, her momentum took a hit when she was defeated by Elina Avanesyan in the second round of the Australian Open. She lost her initial matches in Abu Dhabi and Doha, adding to her challenges significantly.

Last year, Sakkari could be seen struggling to handle the pressures of playing at the highest level of the game. However, cut to March, she is in the finals of Indian wells. Although Sakkari has secured hard-fought wins leading up to here, her hardest battle in the form of Swiatek still awaits her.

Maria Sakkari – ‘haven’t played each other in two years’

With Sakkari and Swiatek in the final, it will be a rematch of the Indian Wells Master Cup final of 2022, where Swiatek convincingly won in straight sets. In her post-match on-court interview, Sakkari speaks of her match-up with Swiatek, calling it, “tough and challenging.” 

She says, “I cannot really say much because we haven’t played each other in two years. So it’s always different to see that player playing against other players and not yourself. But, you know, one thing I know for sure is just that she’s very good, I’m very good, and we’re just going to fight and try and win that tournament.”

While Swiatek has been running through the opposition like a hot knife through butter, it is interesting to note that it’s the Greek who leads 3-2 in the head-to-head!

‘Freaked Me Out’ – Maria Sakkari Confesses to Being ‘Nervous’ of Coco Gauff Resurgence at Indian Wells