Guadalajara (Mexico) – Finalist of the last edition of the WTA 1000 in Guadalajara and eager to regain confidence after early eliminations in recent weeks, Maria Sakkari was emotional after her victory on her debut in Mexico. Second seed in the tournament and world number 9, the Greek beat the Australian Storm Hunter, ranked 157th, by 6/2 and 6/4.

“There is something special here for me. Last year I also came in very poorly. But as soon as I entered the field I received a lot of support. It’s incredible. I had I need that energy. There would be no better place for me to overcome my fears, my doubts, my negative emotions,” Sakkari said during the on-field interview.

“I feel like this is my home tournament.” 💜

@mariasakkari | #GDLOpenAKRON pic.twitter.com/3Cqlq6gyAj

– wta (@WTA) September 20, 2023

The 28-year-old Greek was eliminated early in the last three Grand Slam tournaments she played and declared after elimination at the US Open who was considering taking a break from the circuit routine. But she has a good track record in Guadalajara. In addition to finishing second last year, she was also a semi-finalist in the 2021 WTA Finals, held at the same stadium. “I joke that it’s my home tournament since we don’t have one in my country.”

Sakkari had five aces in the match and led the winner tally 20 to 10. And although she was the aggressive player on the court, she made fewer errors, 17 to Hunter’s 24. After dominating the first set, with two breaks, the Greek started late in the second half and ended up losing 4/2, but reacted by playing four games in a row.

SAKKATTACK full screen ⚡@mariasakkari | #GDLOpenAKRON pic.twitter.com/IbGXMSctOq

– wta (@WTA) September 20, 2023

Sakkari’s opponent in the round of 16 will be 56th-ranked Italian Camila Giorgi, who previously beat Spaniard Cristina Bucsa 6/1 and 6/2. The Greek won the three previous duels she had against Giorgi on the circuit. The match will take place this Wednesday at 6 p.m. (Brasilia time).

Emma Navarro eliminates Keys and faces Fernandez
In the match that closed Tuesday’s schedule, Emma Navarro, 49th in the world, gained the upper hand in the North American duel against Madison Keys, scoring 6/2 and 7/6 (7-5).

Navarro, who was a semifinalist in San Diego last week, showed good pace in the match. Keys, who was practicing his strategy, had a lot of difficulty playing at altitude and committed 39 unforced errors in 1 hour 25 minutes of the match, compared to only 19 errors from his rival. The difference in the number of winners was smaller, 21 to Keys’ 10. The 22-year-old will face Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the round of 16.

Check out the program for this Wednesday in Guadalajara.

Akron Stadium – 2 p.m.
Hailey Baptiste (United States) vs. [3]Caroline García (FRA)
Not before 4 p.m.
Sofia Kenin (United States) vs. [6]Jelena Ostapenko (LET)
Not before 6 p.m.
Camila Giorgi (ITA) against. [2]Maria Sakkari (GRE)
Not before 9 p.m.
[7]Veronika Kudermetova vs. [10]Victoria Azarenka
[1]Ons Jabeur (TUN) against. Martina Trevisan (ITA)

Tribune – Around 3:30 p.m.
Caroline Dolehide (United States) vs. [8]Ekaterina Alexandrova
Taylor Townsend (United States) vs. Emiliana Arango (COL)
Leylah Fernandez (CAN) vs. Emma Navarro (United States)

Court from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Angela Kulikov (United States)/Ingrid Martins (BRA) v. [8]Miyu Kato (JAP)/Aldila Sutjiadi (INA)