Indian Wells: Sakkari fights back to reach third round, plays Kalinina next

Greece’s Maria Sakkari, the No 7 seed, came from a set down to beat American Shelby Rogers 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 and move into the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Friday.

This was Sakkari’s first win over Rogers in four career meetings, something she was very aware of during the match.

“I was scared of that match, because, up until you beat someone, then you just feel like, what am I doing wrong and I cannot get a win over them,” she said in her press conference. “So, I knew she was very dangerous, likes to hit the ball hard and big. I just felt like, okay, this time I have to do something differently. Obviously in the first set I didn’t. I was missing a lot of balls. But then I just, as I said, my game is good when I’m rock solid from the baseline. That’s how I win matches. I’m not a player where I hit 50 winners and 50 unforced errors. I just need to find that balance. That’s how I play good. That’s what I did today.”

The Greek, ranked No 7 in the world, will face Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina, the No 27 seed, for a place in the last 16.

Rogers, ranked No 41, won against wildcard Katie Volynets (6-4, 4-6, 6-1) in the previous round of the tournament.

Indian Wells WTA 1000, other second-round results (Indian Wells Tennis Garden, hard, USD 8,800,000, most recent results first):

• Rebecca Peterson beat Shuai Zhang (22): 3-0 ret.
• Anastasia Potapova (26) beat Xiyu Wang: 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2
• Petra Kvitova (15) beat Elizabeth Mandlik (WC): 6-1, 7-5
• Aryna Sabalenka (2) beat Evgeniya Rodina: 6-2, 6-0
• Barbora Krejcikova (16) beat Dayana Yastremska (WC): 6-1, 6-2
• Veronika Kudermetova (11) beat Anna Blinkova: 6-3, 6-4
• Lesia Tsurenko (Q) beat Donna Vekic (29): 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
• Jil Teichmann beat Belinda Bencic (9): 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
• Jelena Ostapenko (24) beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich: 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
• Anhelina Kalinina beat Linda Fruhvirtova: 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
• Sorana Cirstea vs. Madison Keys
• Nuria Parrizas Diaz vs. Paula Badosa
• Ons Jabeur vs. Magdalena Frech
• Peyton Stearns vs. Bianca Andreescu
• Elena Rybakina vs. Sofia Kenin
• Tatjana Maria vs. Daria Kasatkina
• Martina Trevisan vs. Madison Brengle
• Dalma Galfi vs. Caroline Garcia
• Leylah Fernandez vs. Emma Navarro
• Liudmila Samsonova vs. Bernarda Pera
• Katerina Siniakova vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia
• Iga Swiatek vs. Claire Liu
• Petra Martic vs. Varvara Gracheva
• Karolina Muchova vs. Victoria Azarenka
• Marketa Vondrousova vs. Marie Bouzkova
• Magda Linette vs. Emma Raducanu
• Linda Noskova vs. Amanda Anisimova
• Camila Giorgi vs. Jessica Pegula
• Karolina Pliskova vs. Anna Kalinskaya
• Xinyu Wang vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova
• Coco Gauff vs. Cristina Bucsa

You might also like this

“Break Point” success helps boost social media profile of Fritz, Sakkari, Badosa and others

tennis majors

Swiatek still trying to adjust to top dog status: “I feel like I have a target on my back”

tennis majors

Aryna Sabalenka on Grand Slam glory: ‘I want to feel that again!’

tennis majors

Ivanisevic: “Novak broke all the limits, we want to peak in Paris”

tennis majors

Exclusive interview: Coach Cervara explains Medvedev’s resurgence: “Right now he’s a meteorite: the question is, how long can it last?”

tennis majors