(Guadalajara) The Greek Maria Sakkari won the WTA 1000 tennis tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico on Saturday, the second title of her career, beating the American Caroline Dolehide in the final in straight sets (7-5, 6-3) .
Sakkari, 9th player in the world and seeded No.2, won in 1h43 against Dolehide, world No.111 who had created a surprise the day before by eliminating her compatriot and former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
For the 28-year-old Greek, this victory in Guadalajara, where she was a finalist last year, constitutes the culmination of a checkered season, marked in particular by an elimination in the first round of the US Open.
Sakkari, who did not concede a single set throughout the tournament, won the second singles title of his career after the Morocco Open in 2019.
Very moved, the player thanked her coach, stressing that she had waited “more than four years for a second title”.
“We’ve heard so many negative things – that I’ll never win a title, that I’m a top 5 player who’s only won one title – that I’ve had a really hard time overcoming and I’m so happy to have made it here this week,” she said.
Dolehide, who was playing the first final of his career at age 25, recovered a first break in the first set to take a 5-4 lead. But Sakkari won the next two games, taking advantage of a double fault from Dolehide to break at 6-5.
Trailing 0-30 in the next game, Sakkari fought hard to finally conquer the set.
The American started the second set by saving a break point with difficulty. The Greek then managed another break and, after holding her serve, she took a 4-2 lead against an opponent who was starting to show signs of fatigue.
Sakkari overcame strong returns from Dolehide and a double fault to take a 5-3 lead, sealed with an ace.
She concluded the match with another break, converting her second match point, and then collapsed on the court, in tears, covering her face.
