Tennis-Sakkari pushes past Rybakina into Indian Wells semifinals

March 17, 2022; Indian Wells, California, United States; Maria Sakkari (GRE) bats against Elena Rybakina (KAZ) in their quarterfinal match at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

March 17, 2022

(Reuters) – Greece’s Maria Sakkari overcame a deficit in the first set to beat Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-4 to secure her spot in Thursday’s Indian Wells Final Four.

Greece’s Dynamo fought her way out of a 4-1 hole in the opener with the help of 20 unforced errors from her Kazakh opponent and finally capitalized on the momentum in set number two as she erased four break points to take a 2-0 lead.

Sixth-seeded Sakkari sealed the win when Rybakina hit a forehand on match point to reach her 20th career semifinal and third straight this year under sunny skies in the Southern California desert.

Next up for Sakkari is a showdown with either defending champion Paula Badosa of Spain or Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova, who will play their quarter-finals later on Thursday.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Christian Radnedge)