Madrid Open: Sabalenka surges past Sakkari to reach final

No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka overpowered No.9 seed Maria Sakkari, 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals on Thursday to advance to the final at the Madrid Open for the second time in the past three years, here.

Sabalenka awaits the winner of the second semifinal between No.1 seed Iga Swiatek and No.12 seed Veronika Kudermetova.

The 2021 champion in Madrid, Sabalenka is bidding for a fifth career WTA 1000 title in her sixth appearance in a final at this level, her 13th career title overall and her third title of 2023.

Sabalenka extended her head-to-head advantage against Sakkari to 6-3 in 1 hour and 25 minutes, beating the Greek in straight sets for the fifth time. From 3-3 in the opening set, Sabalenka won nine of the last 11 games in the match, including the last five.

After the match, Sabalenka had high praise for her own performance.

"I think it was actually my best match of the tournament. I started really well. Then Maria came back. But mentally I was staying really strong. I knew that she's going to fight for every point. It didn't, how to say, didn't destroy me that she came back. I was still playing, I was still fighting for every point," she said.

"Yeah, I'm super happy with the level that I played, and especially with my mental game, I would say. I'm more happy with my mental game," she added.

Sabalenka won the first three games, but Sakkari hit back to take the next three including a titanic service hold for 3-3 that went six deuces, where she saved four break points. Sakkari had two further break points on Sabalenka's serve to extend her run to four straight games but couldn't take the lead.

Sabalenka broke Sakkari for a second time to wrap up a one-set lead from 30-0 down.