Fourth-seeded Maria Sakkari smacked 36 winners while upsetting top-seeded Jessica Pegula 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 on Saturday to reach the title match of the Mubadala City DC Open.
Sakkari will face third-seeded Coco Gauff in the final. Gauff cruised to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over defending champion Liudmila Samsonova, the No. 8 seed from Russia.
Sakkari, from Greece, will be playing in her first final of the season. Gauff is playing in her second, after winning the ASB Classic in January.
Sakkari converted 5 of 9 break points in the win over Pegula. Gauff racked up eight aces and saved all five break points she faced against Samsonova.
Livesport Prague Open
Rain wiped out semifinal action and it has been rescheduled for Sunday with the championship match to follow.
No. 4 seed Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic will face Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch in one semifinal. Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian will meet Japan’s Nao Hibino in the other.
–Field Level Media