Athens: Home star Maria Sakkari loses final after blowing lead in both sets

Sakkari led against Barbora Krejcikova in both sets, but ultimately suffered a straight-set defeat in the Athens finals.

Maria Sakkari has fallen just short of completing an outstanding day for Greek tennis after picking up a 6-7 (5) 3-6 loss to Barbora Krejcikova in the Athens final.

Sakkari, who was seeded No. 4 in the Greek capital this week, made a fine start after opening a 4-1 lead.

Unfortunately for the home star and the crowd, the former world No. 2 couldn’t hold onto her lead as No. 4 seed Krejcikova got the break back in the seventh game and went on to force a tie-break, during which she won two consecutive points from 5-5 to seal the opener.

After losing the first set, the home star was also up by a break in the second set after opening a 2-1 lead. But just as was the case in the first set, the Greek blew her advantage as Krejcikova earned breaks in the fourth and eighth games to overturn the deficit and seal a straight-set win.

Sakkari remains without her first title since 2023

For Sakkari, this was her first final since Indian Wells in 2024, where she was beaten by Iga Swiatek.

Also, the 30-year-old Greek was playing for her first WTA title since defeating Caroline Dolehide in the 2023 Guadalajara final.

On the other side, Krejcikova lifted her first title since winning Wimbledon in 2024.

Sakkari was congratulated by Stefanos Tsitsipas

After Tsitsipas won his Gstaad semifinal on Saturday and Sakkari also won her Athens semifinal, the top-ranked Greek male tennis player congratulated the top-ranked Greek female tennis player on her achievement.

“Proud of Maria Sakkari’s inspirational run this week in Athens. Seeing us both in finals on the same day is a special moment for Greek tennis. We’ve shared many milestones over the years, and this is just the beginning of another exciting chapter,” Tsitsipas wrote on X on Saturday.

Responding to it, the former WTA world No. 2 wrote: “Let’s go Stef!!”