Having reached the quarterfinals of the “WTA 1000” tournament in Madrid without losing a set, Iryna Begu (35 WTA) could not overcome the Greek Maria Sakkari (9 WTA), who won with the score 6(3)-7, 6-5. , 6-2.

Iryna Begu, defeat by Maria Sakkari at the WTA in Madrid

The first set was even, with Begu leading 5-3, but Sakkari made a great comeback to reach a tie-break, where the Romanian hit a great series of shots to win 7-3.

The second set belonged to the tournament’s eighth favorite, taking advantage of three double faults by Irina Begu, who had not lost a set at the Madrid tournament until then.

The decisive set did not bring a comeback for the Romanian, who was down two services, and Sakkari respected her status as the favorite and secured the victory.

The game lasted two hours and 55 minutes.

For reaching the quarterfinals, Begu received a check for 161,525 euros and 215 points in the WTA singles ranking.

In WTA Live, Begu is currently ranked 27th with 1443 points. This is a jump of eight positions, and Iryna will overtake Simona Halep in the next WTA ranking.

In the semifinals, Maria Sakkari will meet the second favorite of the tournament, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenko (2 WTA).

The WTA Mutua Madrid Open takes place from April 25 to May 7 on clay in the Caja Magica complex. It is in the WTA 1000 category, has a total prize money of US$7,652,174, and the title holder is Ons Jabert. Simona Halep won in 2016 and 2017.