Sakkari: “Today was one of the best comebacks of my life”

Maria Sakkari had every right to roll over and exit the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday night.

Instead, the Greek battled out of a massive deficit and kept alive her chances at reaching back-to-back finals in Indian Wells. Sakkari, who finished runner-up to Iga Swiatek last spring, came back from a set and 3-1 down to defeat Petra Kvitova 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in a thrilling semi-final.

Kvitova had all kinds of chances to close it out in straight sets. The two-time Wimbledon champion had a 15-40 opening to go up by a double-break (4-1) in the second set.

Even after missing that opportunity, she led 40-0 on her own serve to take a 4-2 advantage. Instead, Sakkari came back to break for 3-3. At 5-6, Kvitova led 40-15 to force a tiebreaker. Again, though, Sakkari wouldn’t go away. The 27-year-old stayed it and broke to extend the match to a decider. It was a third set that she dominated from start to finish.

Sakkari: “It’s a bloody good win”

“It was just the fact that I came back from a set, break….,” Sakkari said when asked why it was an emotional win. “Was it love-40 or 15-40? Who knows? Love-40 on her serve. It’s a good Kvitova again. I’m not saying that in a bad way. But last year for me, it was a lot easier (against her) than this year. She’s now in a good form.

“For me, coming back against her, now that she’s playing good, now that she has beaten so many good players, it’s a bloody good win. I just feel like the fact that I found a way today was one of the best comebacks of my life.”

Sakkari’s reward for her heroics is a semi-final showdown against Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.

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