Maria Sakkari reacts to Stefanos Tsitsipas' third-round collapse—and how she believes he will respond.
By Tennis Now
In a span of 12 hours, it was the best of times and worst of times for Greek tennis.
Maria Sakkari streaked through six straight games dismissing Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-1 storming into her second straight Grand Slam fourth round at the US Open.
More: Coric Saves 6 Match Points Shocks Tsitsipas
Prior to this season, Sakkari was 0-7 in major third-round matches.
Now, she awaits the winner of the Serena Williams vs. Sloane Stephens match for a shot at her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in her 18th major.
"I trust my game and I trust the way I'm playing now and the mentality I have on court," Sakkari said. "I just believe that I can win, you know, my next match. Or I'll try to win."
One of her biggest Grand Slam wins came after a brutally painful loss—Sakkari watched good buddy and compatriot Stefanos Tsitsipas squander six match points and a 5-1 fourth-set lead suffering a gut-wrenching loss to Borna Coric in a match that ended after 1 a.m. local time.
Sakkari said all players sympathize with the sting of a heartbreaking loss, but believes Tsitsipas will grow from the painful setback and come back stronger because he has a champion's character.
"I know it's tough. I didn't want to text him or anything so soon, because I know it hurts," Sakkari said. "I have never played five sets in my life, and I'm sure it's going to hurt even more.
"We feel for him, every single player, because it's tough, you know, losing after having six match points. I think I never lost a match with that many match points. But I'm sure he's going to bounce back because he's a strong guy mentally. I have a lot of confidence in him, and, you know, he's a great player. For me, he's a champion, so he's for sure going to come back stronger."
The 15th-seeded Sakkari said she's committed to carrying the Greek flag deep in New York and dreams of the day both she and Tsitsipas are pursuing Grand Slam glory at the same Slam.
"I mean, it would be great to have both of us, you know, going deep," Sakkari said. "But I'm sure it's going to happen one day. I'm pretty confident."
Photo credit: Adam Glanzman/USTA
