Maria Sakkari secures shock win to end Naomi Osaka's winning run and No 1 hopes at Miami Open
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Updated 01/04/2021 at 07:59 GMT
Naomi Osaka's winning run is over. The world No 2 had not lost a match since February 2020 heading into her Miami Open quarter-final against Maria Sakkari, but saw her unbeaten streak come to an end. Osaka was bidding to overtake Ashleigh Barty as world No 1 this week, but can no longer do that after the result. In the evening match, Bianca Andreescu knocked out Sara Sorribes Tormo in three sets.
Maria Sakkari
Image credit: Getty Images
Maria Sakkari pulled off a stunning upset as she ended Naomi Osaka’s 23-match winning streak with a straight-sets victory in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open.
World No 25 Sakkari raced through the opening set without dropping a game and then finished by winning five games in a row to clinch a 6-0, 6-4 win.
It is Osaka’s first defeat in over a year and ends her chances of overtaking Ashleigh Barty as world No 1 this week.
Sakkari will face Bianca Andreescu next, with Barty meeting Elina Svitolina in the other semi-final.
"She's a really big fighter so I knew it wasn't going to be easy," said Osaka.
"I felt like I haven't been playing well this whole tournament. I couldn't find a groove, so mentally it's really hard for me to play against really high-quality players with what I feel is low-quality tennis."
Osaka started the match in shocking fashion as she won just eight points in a 21-minute first set.
Sakkari broke three times, helped by 12 unforced errors from the world No 2, who also only made 35 per cent of her first serves.
Sakkari had a chance to break again in the opening game of the second set but failed to take three chances.
It looked like the momentum had shifted as Osaka broke to love and held again for 3-0 after saving three more break points.
But from 4-1 down, Sakkari reeled off five games in a row to secure a remarkable win and book her place in the last four.
Andreescu outlasts Sorribes Tormo
Canada's Bianca Andreescu secured a semi-final meeting with Sakkari thanks to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo in two hours and 36 minutes.
"After the first set, I was honestly so tired, but we both fought really hard," Andreescu said on-court after the gruelling battle as the 20-year-old progressed to her second semi-final of the season.
"She’s an incredible fighter. I have no idea how I pushed through, but I fought as hard as I could and I’m super happy.”
Andreescu fought back from a double-break deficit to win the next six games in a row and ultimately the opening set.
The second set was topsy-turvy with both players struggling to hold their serve. After seven straight breaks, Sorribes Tormo eventually held hers to go 4-3 up before breaking for a fourth time to force a decider.
That was when Andreescu stepped up her game, breaking to go 3-2 up before reeling off three of the remaining four games.
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