French Open | Krejcikova – Sakkarova 7: 5, 4: 6, 9: 7, Fantastic! Krejčíková is in the finals of the French Open after a heroic performance

Barbora Krejčíková won the first set against Sakkari

Michel Euler, ČTK / AP

At the beginning of the first set, both players were nervous about the importance of the match. Neither Krejčíková nor Sakkari have ever played the semifinals of the grand slam singles tournament before, and this was evident in the opening games in the game. The native from Athens was the first to keep the serve in the fourth game and took the lead 3: 1. Sakkari dictated the pace of the game, the Czech tennis player relied mainly on the mistakes of the opponent. However, from the state 2: 3 for the Greek, Krejčíková won three games in a row, but not even the 5: 3 lead broke her opponent and she was soon equalized again.

The dramatic opening set didn’t make it to the tie break in the end. The tennis player from Ivančice kept the service at 5: 5, Sakkari lost him for the fourth time in the first set and Krejčíková won the first set in the ratio 7: 5 after an hour of play.

The tailors escaped the introduction

Sakkari entered the second set much better. With an aggressive game, especially from the forehand side, she kept her opponent in a heavy defensive and soon developed a 4-0 lead. Krejčíková significantly slowed down the force of her service, she looked tired on the court at this stage of the match, and for the first time in the second set she played her own service only in the fifth game. The 25-year-old game won by the Czech Republic encouraged and reduced the score to 3: 4, but it was not enough for more than a 4: 6 loss.

Maria Sakkari in the fight to advance to the finals of the French Open.

Benoit Tessier, Reuters

The drama decided the third set

Sakkari also started the battle for the third set better, when she took the lead 2: 0. The two-time grand slam champion in doubles still rose, she had a breakball at 2: 3 to equalize, but her opponent eventually won the game.

At 4: 5, Krejčíková deflected her opponent’s match and equalized in the third set to 5: 5. And the drama culminated! At 7: 6, the Czech Republic had three match points when serving its opponent, but did not use any of them.

At 8: 7 and 40:30 for Krejčíková, the ball flew out of Sakkar’s racket behind the baseline, but the referee marked the ball as good (see tweet below). However, the Czech tennis player did not have to be sorry, she finally won the set 9: 7 and after three hours and eighteen minutes she could celebrate advancing to the finals.