Tennis world number nine Maria Sakkari has ended her wait for her second WTA title in four years. The Greek defeated the unseeded American Caroline Dolehide in the final of the $2,788,468 tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico. Sakkari had lost all of her six previous finals.
“We heard so many bad things – that I will never win a title, that I am a top five player and have only won one title, that was very difficult for me to overcome,” said the 28-year-old and thanked her Trainer, with whom she has been working since 2018: “I’m so glad I made it here this week.”
Sakkari, who was eliminated in the first round of the US Open, played a very strong tournament in Mexico. She was the first player this year to reach the final of a WTA 1000 tournament without losing a set. In the final against the world number 111. Dolehide kept Sakkari’s clean slate; she is ranked sixth in the new WTA rankings on Monday.