Our champions Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari showed that if they avoid serious mistakes and stay focused, their path to the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, will be a long one. They advanced to the second round of the tournament. .
Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Kenten Alice 6-3, 6-4 and 7-6 in two hours and Wei Wang’s Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-4 in 94 minutes. Their next meetings will be with young ambitious athletes.
The comfort with which Stefanos Tsitsipas won the first two sets was not in the third. There he lost concentration and ended up behind the opponent. Finally, after a big effort in the 3rd set, he won by a clean sheet. His next opponent will be the Australian Rinki Hijikata (169th in the world), who defeated Yannick Hanfman 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. This will be the first time the two tennis players will face each other. “In the third set, I lost the rhythm, but with the support of the fans I came back. I am happy every time I am in Australia, and I am dedicated to my work, ”said our best tennis player.
Maria Sakkari led a purely attacking game and, with the exception of a few points in the second set, left no doubt about her good form. In the second round, our champion will face Diana Snyder. The 18-year-old Russian (106th) qualified and in her first appearance at the Grand Slam tournaments of the main draw, knocked out the experienced Kristina Kutsova (7-6, 7-5).
Stefanos defeated Kenten Alice 6-3, 6-4 and 7-6 while Maria defeated Wei Wang 6-1, 6-4.
“In Melbourne, I feel like I’m in my hometown. The people are very friendly. The conditions are ideal,” our champion emphasized and said that she was satisfied with her physical condition.
Except Kyrgios
Americans Jessica Pegula (6-0, 6-1 Jacqueline Christian) and Koko Goff (6-1, 6-4 Katerina Sinyakova) and Iga Sviontek (6-4, 7-5 Yula Niemeyer) advanced to the second round. Rafa Nadal defeated Jack Draper (40th) 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, while Daniil Medvedev beat Mark Andrea Hessler (6-0-6-1, 6-2) without any problems ).
Due to a meniscus problem, Nick Kyrgios withdrew from the Australian tournament.
Source: Kathimerini
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