MARIA Sakkari has knocked out the last remaining Grand Slam winner, ironically the reigning Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek, in straight sets overnight. Sakkari won her quarter final 6-4 6-4 over the eighth seed to set up a semi-final with Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova.

Sakkari needed 95 minutes to dismiss the 2020 Roland Garros champion, ending her 11-game winning streak at the event. The Greek 17th seed smashed 26 winners to 17 and had one less unforced error than her Polish opponent (24-25), also serving the only five aces of the match.

“I don’t want to get too excited because I don’t have a day off tomorrow,” Sakkari said post-match. “I still have to play, stay focused. But it’s a big achievement, for sure. I’m enjoying, as I said on court, my tennis and myself.”

“I have people around me telling it was going to come. You know, they were right. Maybe I was the one who was telling them, I was impatient, telling them, ‘When and when and when?’ It actually came this week, so I’m happy about it.”

The Greek talent advanced through to her first Grand Slam semi-final on the back of a much stronger return game, winning 43 per cent of her return points to Swiatek’s 31 per cent, and breaking three times from eight chances compared to Swiatek’s one from six.

“Every player has a way of playing, a way of just executing the game plan,” Sakkari said. “I feel like I have a heavy forehand, a good forehand on the clay. I have to play with it. I served really well today.”

Sakkari will take on Krejcikova to try and snap a two-game head-to-head losing streak with the Czech, who won as recently as in Dubai earlier this year.

“Just to say the truth, I did not play well in Dubai,” Sakkari said. “It was one of [Krejcikova’s] best weeks. Credit to her. She played very, very good that week. But different conditions, fast court, fast balls. I made a lot of unforced errors.”

“I think, of course, it’s going to be very tough, but I’m confident that my coaches will give me the right game plan. So far I have been executing whatever they said really well. I trust myself and I trust their game plan. I think it’s going to work out well.”

In the other semi-final, Krejcikova had to overcome a tight first set tiebreaker to shake off young gun Coco Gauff and book her first Grand Slam singles semi-final. In good form this year, Krejcikova won 7-6 6-3 in one hour and 50 minutes, hitting far less unforced errors (28-41) and more winners (27-25). She also won 51 per cent of her receiving points to Gauff’s 41 per cent, and was more clinical on serve with a 69 and 44 per cent success rate off her first and second serves respectively, compared to Gauff’s 54 and 40 per cent.

Having already won a couple of Grand Slams in doubles, Krejcikova was just as hungry to taste that success in singles.

“I never really wanted to be a doubles specialist,” Krejcikova said post-match. “Everybody just put a label on me. But we won our first two Grand Slams when I was 22. I felt like I don’t want to be a doubles specialist when I was 22. I want to play singles. I want to work hard, improve my game. I want to play the top players actually in singles.”

Gauff had five set points in the opening set, but could not quite get it done, though was spirited in the second set after falling 5-0 down only to win three consecutive games and put up a fight.

“I’m obviously disappointed that I wasn’t able to close out the first set,” she said post-match. “To be honest, it’s in the past, it already happened. “After the match, my hitting partner told me this match will probably make me a champion in the future. “I really do believe that.”

ROLAND GARROS QUARTER FINALS RESULTS:

[17] Maria Sakkari (GRE) defeated [8] Iga Swiatek (POL) 6-4 6-4
Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) defeated [24] Coco Gauff (USA) 7-6 6-3

Picture credit: WTA/Jimmie48