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Maria Sakkari simply acknowledged "no one likes to get chopped on the court" after she started crying during a WTA Finals loss to Aryna Sabalenka. Sakkari, who made the WTA Finals as an alternate following a Karolina Muchova withdrawal, played her opening match in Cancun on Sunday.
Unfortunately for Sakkari, her third consecutive WTA Finals appearance got off to a very rough start after world No 1 Sabalenka dismantled her with a 6-0 6-1 score. During a changeover, Sakkari was seen covering her face with a towel and crying. “I don’t have much to say.
I think it was pretty obvious I wasn’t feeling my game and wasn’t feeling comfortable out there. Just a very, very bad day at the office. I just don’t think that I’m the first or the last person that has felt this way on the court or has cried on the court.
It’s not nice. But no one likes to get chopped on the court," Sakkari said after the loss.
Sakkari had a very rough day against Sabalenka
After serving out the opening game of the match, Sabalenka also earned the first break of the match in the second game.
Down by an early break, Sakkari had a chance to get the break back but she didn't convert any of her four break points in the third game. Sakkari paid the price for not getting the break back as Sabalenka broke the Greek again in the fourth and sixth games en route to bageling her in the first set.
The second set started pretty much the same way as the first set did as Sabalenka opened an early 2-0 lead and then saved a break point in the third game to take a 3-0 lead. Sabalenka then broke Sakkari again in the fourth game and served out the following game for a 5-0 lead.
Sakkari was inches away from losing the match without a game won but she managed to save three match points in the sixth game and get on the board before Sabalenka served out for the match in the seventh game.