Sakkari and Kontaveit to meet in Ostrava final

Anett Kontaveit and Maria Sakkari will meet in the final of the J&T Banka Ostrava Open tomorrow – having dismissed the top two seeds from the tournament.

The unseeded Estonian sent second seed Petra Kvitova packing with a 6-0, 6-4 victory, while the Greek beat top seed Iga Swiatek 6-4, 7-5.

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It was a massive relief for Sakkari, seeded fourth – she had lost her last nine semi-finals, including two in Grand Slams, at this year’s Roland-Garros and then at the US Open. It was a streak that stretched back over two years – to May 2019, when she went on to become champion in Rabat.

And Kontaveit ended home hopes by knocking out the Czech in a match that lasted just one hour and 11 minutes. Although Kvitova held a dominant advantage in their head-to-head, leading 5-2 coming into the encounter, the 30-year-old has great form at the semi-final stage, winning her last five on tour.