Maria Sakkari, who is ranked sixth in the world by the WTA, beat Veronika Kudermetova in three sets on Friday night to move on to the semifinals of the Guadalajara Open 1000. With this victory, Sakkari secured a place in the WTA Finals. The scores were 6-1, 5-7, and 6-4 in the match.
Who Is the Number Four Seed
Sakkari, who is seeded fourth, will play against the winner of the late match between Marie Bouzkova and Anna Kalinskaya after the match has been completed.
Sakkari will be making her second straight participation in the competition as she competes in the WTA Finals. The Greek player, who is now 27 years old, took part in the competition in Guadalajara a year ago and made it to the quarterfinals of the competition there.
Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur, who were both ranked first, were granted entry into the competition as a result of their respective performances in the United States Open. On the other hand, Jessica Pegula was able to compete in Mexico because she had already qualified for the event in San Diego the previous week.
Some of the other contenders that fulfilled the standards were Caroline Garcia, Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, and Daria Kasatkina.
Victoria Azarenka prevailed against Gauff in three sets, winning 7-6 (2), 4-6, and 6-3 respectively. After two wins during this week, Gauff had already ensured that she would participate in the competition.
Someone Has Belarusian Ancestry
Azarenka, who was born in Belarus and is now 33 years old, has advanced to the semifinals of a tournament for the first time since reaching the championship match at the Indian Wells event in October of the previous year.
“Even though she is still a young player, she has already amassed a considerable amount of experience while competing on the tour. Getting to witness Coco in action is one of my favorite things “Azarenka said.
“There is not the slightest shadow of a doubt in my mind that she will have a great lot of success in the sport. It seems to me that all she needs is a little bit more of something to take that next step forward in her career.”
In the following round, former world No. 1 player Azarenka will compete against Jessica Pegula, who is the third seed in the tournament. Pegula defeated Sloane Stephens, a former champion of the U.S. Open, with ease, prevailing by scores of 6-2 and 6-2. Azarenka will face whoever emerges victorious from that bout.
Pegula is the player with the most victories in WTA 1000 tournaments since 2021, as she currently holds the record with 37 victories in those competitions. She was the one who ended the impasse with Swiatek (36).
Finishing Line
Pegula, who is having a breakthrough year, said, “I saw the statistics that revealed I had the most wins over the previous two years.” Pegula is now experiencing a year in which he has been particularly successful.
Pegula is now in the thick of a campaign that is doing quite well. “It’s excellent in every way. When I was younger, I never gave it any thought that I would one day be in a position where I might win two games in a row; this is going to be an important statistic for the rest of my career.”