The Greek tennis star, Maria Sakkari, recently knocked out the Dutch player, Arantxa Rus, at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma. Sakkari defeated Rus 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the round of 16, moving on to the quarterfinals round of the tournament.

After the match, Sakkari talked about the criticism faced by the WTA players on the tour. The world No. 7 previously faced criticism as she was struggling against lower-ranked players.

Maria Sakkari fires back at her critics

During the post-match press conference, Sakkari criticized “Twitter journalists” for their criticism of her form in the current season. She stated that people on social media don’t respect players competing at the highest level, as they don’t understand the struggles and difficulties faced by the WTA players on tour.

Sakkari stated, “I disagree with Twitter journalists who blame players without being in our position. They don’t know how hard this life is. You have to respect all the players because you don’t know what they are going through”

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The Greek women’s number one started the Parma Open brilliantly as she knocked out the Ukrainian player, Kateryna Baindl, in the round of 32 of the tournament. She defeated her 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-3 to reach the round of 16 of the Emilia-Romagna Open. In the next round, Sakkari made a stunning comeback after going behind in the first set of the match against Arantxa Rus.

Sakkari’s US Open campaign

Maria Sakkari had a disappointing US Open campaign, as she suffered a defeat in the second round of the tournament. Sakkari started the tournament brilliantly as she defeated the German tennis player, Tatjana Maria, in the first round. However, despite her solid performance, the Greek tennis player couldn’t overcome the Chinese player, Wang Xiyu.

Prior to the US Open, Sakkari suffered a similar fate in the Cincinnati Masters, as she lost against Caroline Garcia in the round of 32. Sakkari also participated in the Canadian Open, but she was outclassed by the Czech player, Karolína Plíšková. She was also knocked out from the Silicon Valley Classic in the round of 16 of the tournament by the American Shelby Rogers.

Maria Sakkari has had a disappointing season so far, suffering initial round exits in various tournaments. Sakkari will now compete against Danka Kovinic in the semifinal after triumphing over Maryna Zanevska in the quarter-finals of the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma.

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