Sakkari advances to fourth round of Australian Open
The 22nd-seeded Maria Sakkari beat 10th-seeded Madison Keys 6-4, 6-4 on Margaret Court Arena on Friday, advancing to her first fourth round of the Australian Open.
She becomes the first Greek woman to make the second week at a Grand Slam since Eleni Daniilidou in 2005.
The Greek fans weren’t as boisterous this time. Two days earlier, police said up to 20 people supporting Sakkari were ejected for disruptive behavior from Court 8, one of the outside courts at Melbourne Park that are easily accessible for fans with grounds passes.
Margaret Court Arena is an all-ticketed stadium, and Australian Open seats sell out quickly.
Asked if her fans were a little less vocal this time, Sakkari replied: “Yeah, I think it’s because … well, what I was told is that the court was sold out and they couldn’t find tickets.”
She defended her vocal cheering section, anyway.
“I think they didn’t do anything wrong in my match to be kicked out,” she said. “I don’t know what they did later, but actually my previous match they were perfect.”
[AP]
