Sakkari stings Hives, powers into Wimbledon second round

June 28, 2022

Maria Sakkari won against Zoe Hives 6-1, 6-4 on Tuesday. She’ll play the winner of the match between Australian wild card Daria Saville and Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova in the next round

Greece’s Maria Sakkari reacts during her first round match against Australia’s Zoe Hives (AI/Reuters/Panoramic)

Greek Maria Sakkari, the No 5 seed, defeated Australian qualifier Zoe Hives 6-1, 6-4 to move into the second round of Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Tuesday.

“First round in a Grand Slam always has a lot of nerves, no matter who you play,” Sakkari said afterwards. “I think I managed it really well, especially on that first set. I believe I had not too many unforced errors. For me, that was a very important thing just to get myself in a good rhythm.

“I never felt the stress that I won’t be able to close out the match in two sets. It was I had to stay a little bit more focused and more in the present to just close it out sooner.

“But eventually when I got that second chance, which was on 5-4, I just took it and closed out the match.”

Sakkari, ranked No 5, will face the winner of the match between Australian wild card Daria Saville and Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova next.