Sakkari Eases Past Martic To Give Greece 2-1 Lead Against Croatia

Maria Sakkari gave Greece a 2-1 lead over Croatia in the Perth City Final at the United Cup on Wednesday after defeating Petra Martic 6-3, 6-3 in the third match of the day.

Earlier, Donna Vekic had kicked off the tie with an emphatic 6-2, 6-0 defeat of Despina Papamichail in just 64 minutes, giving Croatia an early 1-0 lead. However, Stefanos Tsitsipas drew level at 1-1 after coming from 1-4 down in the third set to beat Borna Coric for the first time 6-0, 6-7(4), 7-5.

The clash of the two teams' top WTA players saw Sakkari deliver a fine serving performance to shut out Martic. The WTA No.6 landed 67 per cent of her first deliveries and won 73 per cent of those points — a recipe for success, as she was broken just once and only faced break points in two games. By contrast, Martic's serve was not the weapon it can be, with only 54 per cent of her first serves landing in.

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Both players fired 19 winners apiece, but Sakkari demonstrated both more consistency and better execution on big points. A series of Martic errors paved the way for Sakkari to break for 5-3 in the first set, and the two-time major semi-finalist kept a firm grasp of momentum by unleashing on a sequence of forehands to capture Martic's serve again at the start of the second set.

Sakkari gave Martic few opportunities on return, and the Croat was largely unable to take her half-chances. Some fine shotmaking staved off the double break at the start of the second set, but Martic could not build on a 0-30 lead on Sakkari's serve in the next game. Neither could she convert two break-back points in the penultimate game of the match.

Greece will have the opportunity to seal victory in the fourth rubber of the tie, though ATP No. 803 Stefanos Sakellaridis, 18, would need to defeat No.144 Borna Gojo. Should the teenager not pull off the upset, the City Final will be decided by the last mixed doubles rubber.