In the history of women's tennis, the name Maria always seems to have its own aura. Maria Sharapova became a winner of beauty and record, and Maria Kirilenko also attracted many fans with her unique charm circle. Today, another Mary has entered the public eye with her eye-catching performance, and she is the 26-year-old Greek girl Maria Sakkari.
Photo: Sakkari celebrates victory in Xinhua News Agency
Last night's French Open women's singles quarterfinals, Sakkari fell two straight sets, defeating the previous champion Swatak, who had not lost the previous set, and reached the top 4 of Grand Slam singles for the first time in his career. "Before coming to Paris, I never thought I would get to this point, it was a surprise." The Greek girl after the victory smiled and blossomed, "Every time I compete, I wish I could stay longer, I know my mother will watch every game I play, I hope she will be proud of me." 」 ”
Speaking of which, Sakkari's mother was also a professional tennis player, who reached the round of 16 in Roland Garros, which is also the best record of a Greek female player in the French Open before, after picking out the No. 4 seed Kenning in the last round, the blue Maria rewrote the record, and she also received a special text message, which she successfully advanced to the top 8, and when she returned to the hotel and opened her phone, she saw, "You know, I'm sad now, because my record was broken by you." Sakkari imitated her mother's message, "In fact, I know that the moment I win, she must be happy, because I am constantly improving myself as my mother expects." ”
Photo: Sakkari in the match Xinhua News Agency
Sakkari revealed that when she first came into contact with tennis, she did not know that she had a mother who played professional tennis, "Before the age of 13, I trained with my grandfather, and she did not come to see many times, completely unlike the appearance of experienced people." "However, the Greek girl also said bluntly that she is not a talented player, every basic action must be practiced for a long time, and it can persist until now, which has a lot to do with the family's tennis genes." Later, my mother told me that she had that experience and encouraged me to go abroad and help me when I was transferred to a professional career but did not yet have a full-time coach. With the combined efforts of the two, Sakkari made the world's top 100 for the first time at the age of 21, when her mother told her it was time to move towards higher goals.
In recent years, Sakari's Grand Slam record has become more stable, but it has been difficult to break through the third round at the French Open, "Sometimes I feel that this is like a spell, the more I want to cross, the easier it is to lose, so I don't want to this year." 」 The peaceful mentality surprised the Greek girl, who not only broke the spell, but also picked off the women's singles champion and runner-up of last year's French Open. Now, she is the highest-ranked player in the women's singles and is also recognized as a favorite to win the championship. In response, the Greek girl waved her hand, "It's too early to talk about this, there are still two games, the important thing is to play every point." "It's true that no one knows what will happen in the future, but one thing is for sure, regardless of the outcome of this French Open trip, Sakkari is a daughter who makes her mother proud. (Xinmin Evening News reporter Lu Weixin)