Maria Sakkari vs. Petra Kvitova’s match at BNP Paribas Open

Priyanka Mishra
Posted by Priyanka Mishra March 17, 2023
Petra Kvitova
Sakkari has now won 19 of the 22 matches she has ever played, including her last 11 straight hard-court quarterfinal victories. Image source: Getty Images

 Maria Sakkari vs. Petra Kvitova’s match at BNP Paribas Open

Image source: AP Photo/Kin Cheung

On March 15th, Maria Sakkari and Petra Kvitova will square off in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open.

With odds of -160 to +140 in the Quarterfinal, Sakkari is the underdog against Kvitova in this match.

Performance & Statistics of the Sakkari vs. Kvitova Matchup
Sakkari has a 20-14 score in the last 12 months on hard courts.

Sakkari has earned 72.5% of her matches on serve and 30.7% of them on return on hard courts during the previous 12 months, according to serve/return winning percentages.

Sakkari has converted 115 of 276 break-point chances (or 41.7% of her total) throughout the past year on hard courts alone.

Karolina Pliskova, who is ranked No. 18, defeated Sakkari 1-6, 2-6 in the round of 32 of her previous competition (the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships) on February 21.

Kvitova has a 20-10 game record on sports centers over the previous 12 months, but she has yet to claim a trophy on those surfaces.

On hard courts, Kvitova has 237 victories in 321 serve games (73.8%) and 100 victories in 313 return games (31.9%).

Kvitova, who is ranked 136th, has won 48.2% of her break attempts on hard courts (93 out of 193).

Kvitova lost to No. 30 Barbora Krejcikova on February 22 in the round of 16 of her most recent competition, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, with scores of 3-6, 2-6.

Maria Sakkari fights back to defeat Petra Kvitova and go to her second consecutive semifinal at Indian Wells.

The Greek, who finished second in the dunes a year before, has already conquered 11 straight quarterfinal matches on hard courts.

On Wednesday night, Maria Sakkari was facing Petra Kvitova and was in serious difficulty. Yet, she never gave up and eventually won, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, to go to her second consecutive Indian Wells semifinal.

In her on-court interview, the Greek, who finished second behind Iga Swiatek in the deserts a year ago, was questioned about Kvitova.

She remarked, “From my perspective, you know, she’s one of the athletes that I respect most. “She has won a lot of awards, but she is, above all, a wonderful girl and a kind person. She is not only a fantastic tennis player, but I have a lot of respect for her personality and everything she has been through in her career. Everyone in the dressing room probably appreciates her in the same way I do.

Kvitova was ahead by a set and then a break at 6-4, 2-0, after just over an hour on the court. Sakkari saved the break point and held. Kvitova brought up a double break opportunity with Sakkari holding at 1-3, 15-40, but the Greek held after retaining in the following game.

When Sakkari sneaked out yet another rest in the very last match of the second set to force a third, the match was completely turned around. Sakkari gripped an early goal for 3-1 in the tie breaker and can’t lose another game. Kvitova was at 6-4, 3-2, 40-0 but got smashed and never took the lead again.

“She made me perform like a novice in the initial set, she was performing so well,” Sakkari said. “Not only was I behind a set and a break. “I tried to concentrate on many things. I had to consider the opposing viewpoint to determine how I could more effectively place her in an awkward situation.

“I believe it succeeded. I simply tried to play forcefully. And all I can say is, “My feet are bleeding so severely that I think I need a pedicure!”

After losing to Garbine Muguruza in the last 8 of a hard-court event in Doha in 2021, Sakkari has won her past 11 consecutive hard-court quarterfinal matches.

The Greek is currently 19-3 in hard court quarterfinals for her career.

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