Sakkari stings Hives, powers into Wimbledon second round
Maria Sakkari won against Zoe Hives 6-1, 6-4 on Tuesday. She’ll play the winner of the match between Australian wild card Daria Saville and Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova in the next round
Greek Maria Sakkari, the No 5 seed, defeated Australian qualifier Zoe Hives 6-1, 6-4 to move into the second round of Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Tuesday.
“First round in a Grand Slam always has a lot of nerves, no matter who you play,” Sakkari said afterwards. “I think I managed it really well, especially on that first set. I believe I had not too many unforced errors. For me, that was a very important thing just to get myself in a good rhythm.
“I never felt the stress that I won’t be able to close out the match in two sets. It was I had to stay a little bit more focused and more in the present to just close it out sooner.
“But eventually when I got that second chance, which was on 5-4, I just took it and closed out the match.”
Sakkari, ranked No 5, will face the winner of the match between Australian wild card Daria Saville and Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova next.