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The 20-year-old Pole, who took an off-court medical timeout early in the second set, was overwhelmed by Sakkari’s power and pace on court Philippe Chatrier with up to almost 5,000 spectators now allowed to attend.
The world no. 18 defeated defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-4 to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final at the French Open on Wednesday. Sakkari will face unseeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic for a place in the final after seeing off Swiatek who had required a medical timeout early in the second set.
Consider the moment seized 👏
In her first career major quarter-final, 🇬🇷@mariasakkari earns the upset over defending champ and No.8 seed Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-4. She'll face Krejcikova for a spot in the final.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/y4cWZwUnn2
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 9, 2021
In Maria’s most recent post on Instagram, Maria had mentioned how excited and content she was after reaching the quarter-finals itself for the first time. She had also mentioned that she was all set for it.
Thursday’s other semi-final sees Russia’s 32nd world ranked Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova tackle unseeded Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia.
For only the second time in the Open era, there are four first-time Grand Slam semi-finalists in women’s singles, after the 1978 Australian Open.