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Sakkari struggled holding her serve early in the match, as she was broken twice in her first match. In the end, the first game was lost in a tiebreaker. In the second, the highest-ranking Greek woman was already in full control of events at court. However, in the decisive set, the favorite did not hold back the serve after a tie 4: 4, and the Chinese woman later concluded her unexpected promotion to the 1/8 finals. The meeting lasted 2 hours and 33 minutes.
Świątek is losing dangerous rivals
Sakkari’s exit means half of the top 10 players remain in the women’s tournament. Russian Daria Kasatkina (8 WTA) was the first to withdraw from this event in Melbourne – 1: 6, 1: 6 with Varvara Gracchua. In the second round, the same fate befell her compatriot Veronica Kudermitua (9th WTA) – 4: 6, 6: 2, 2: 6 with Katie Volynets. At this point, this year’s adventure The Australian Open also ended sensationally with the second racket of the world, Tunisian Anas Jabeur – 1: 6, 7: 5, 1: 6 with Marketa Vondrousova.
Australian Open 2023. Match results and Women’s Championship bracket
In the third round, except for Sakkari, the tenth seed was also eliminatedAmerican Madison Keys – 6: 1, 2: 6, 1: 6 with Victoria Azarenka.
Video: Eurosport Summary of the match Zhou – Sakari in the third round of the Australian Open
In the Grand Slam title game in Australia, among the top 10 players there are still: world ranking leader Iga Świątek, Jessica Pegula (USA, WTA III), Caroline Garcia (France, WTA IV), Arina Sabalenka (Belarus, 5th WTA) and Coco Gauff (USA, 7th WTA).
Švetek will face Jelena Rybakina in the 1/8 finals on Sunday. The tennis player, representing the colors of Kazakhstan, beat the American Danielle Collins in the third round, with whom the best Polish player lost in the semi-finals of last year’s Australian Open. Rybakina is the 2022 Wimbledon champion.
Author: jac/PO
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Source: eurosport.pl
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