By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, August 5, 2023

Seeing her 6-3, 4-1 lead slip away in opposition to Jessica Pegula at the moment, Maria Sakkari was in no temper for slipping from one other semifinal slope.

Winless in 5 prior semifinals this season, Sakkari snapped her semifinal slide with dedicated closing kick.

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The fourth-seeded Greek toppled the top-seeded Pegula 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to achieve her first closing of the season on the Mubadala Citi DC Open. 

Sakkari snapped a streak of six straight semifinal losses at the moment.

Tomorrow, she goals to shatter an 0-5 report in hard-court finals and seize her maiden-hard court docket championship when she faces Coco Gauff for the title.

"I played four finals last year, so I don't know why everyone is, like, so, you know, crazy about me losing in the semifinals," Sakkari instructed the media in Washington, DC. "I think that I have been doing pretty well. I have been top 10 for two years, but I guess that everyone has something to say.

"So on the identical time, you understand, it's what it's. I do not actually care about it anymore. I simply wish to win the title. Yeah, that is for certain."

Still, her semifinal struggles—Sakkari carried a 7-20 career semifinal record onto court today—didn't deter the former Roland Garros semifinalist at crunch time today.

Sakkari said she's aware of the focus on her recent final four futility—pointing out there's even a YouTube video on the topic— and is determined to "overcome it."

"I actually tried to dam that semifinal factor that has been happening and on for therefore lengthy and in each completely different platform. I simply do not actually care anymore," Sakkari said with a smile. "They have made YouTube movies of my dropping semifinals. I'm, like, Whatever. People are simply so dumb (smiling)." 

Ultimately, Sakkari said clearing the semifinal stumbling block will hopefully help vault her to her second career title and first on hard court.

"I'm telling you, I feel if you happen to have been to ask lots of gamers on the tour if they'd take my semifinal report, they'd say sure, as a result of I'm not dropping first spherical. I'm dropping in semifinal," Sakkari said. "So on the identical time, it is nothing dangerous about it.

"But obviously I had it in my mind that I want to overcome that for this year, and, you know, it's something that I'm happy about that it happened this week. But I'm not done yet. That's how I feel."

Photo credit score: Matthew Calvis

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