World No. 3 Maria Sakkari was disappointed after suffering an early exit at the French Open but showed her class as she admitted that Karolina Muchova was the better player in their meeting. Third-seeded Sakkari was considered among favorites for the French Open title but her campaign at Roland Garros ended with a second round defeat.
81st-ranked Muchova edged out Sakkari in two tight sets as she claimed a 7-6 (5) 7-6 (4) win. Sakkari saved seven set points in three different games, before Muchova realized her eighth set point in the first set tie-break.
In the second set, Sakkari twice recovered from a break down to force a tie-break, in which the two players were tied to four points apiece before Muchova won three consecutive points to seal a straight-set win.
SakkarI.
I wanted to make a deep run but Muchova was better today
“She played an amazing match. She always plays extremely well in Grand Slams and today she was the better player, so I have to give it to her,” Sakkari said, per the WTA website.
“It’s disappointing for sure because it still, it still is my favorite tournament and I’m sad. But at the same time there were a lot of positives today because I found myself again in the court. I’m feeling good.
I’m fighting. I’m enjoying my time on the court so I think that great things are going to happen soon. I knew that I wanted to do well, but things are different every year and we have seen so many upsets, and so many upsets all these years, like in tournaments of [this] level, you always have to accept that you cannot go deep every single tournament or every single big tournament.”
Last year, Sakkari made her maiden Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros before losing to eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova. Sakkari remains without a Grand Slam title as her focus now switches onto the grass season and Wimbledon.
