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Match details
Fixture: (2) Aryna Sabalenka vs (7) Maria Sakkari
Date: March 17, 2023
Tournament: BNP Paribas Open
Round: Semifinals
Venue: Indian Wells, California, USA
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $8,800,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Aryna Sabalenka vs Maria Sakkari preview
Reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka will square off against World No. 7 Maria Sakkari in the semifinals of the 2023 BNP Paribas Open on Friday.
Sabalenka had to get past Evgeniya Rodina, Lesia Tsurenko and Barbora Krejcikova to make it to the last eight. She then faced fellow top-10 player Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals.
The Belarusian started the match by securing a break of serve and solidified her lead with a hold to make it 2-0. Sabalenka never allowed Gauff to settle in, and later held a set point on her opponent's serve at 5-4.
The teenager did manage to hold serve, but Sabalenka clinched the set in the following game. The second set was one-way traffic as the World No. 2 dished out a bagel to win the match 6-4, 6-0. She has now made it to the semifinals here for the first time.
Sakkari, meanwhile, defeated Shelby Rogers, Anhelina Kalinina and Karolina Pliskova to book a quarterfinal date against Petra Kvitova. The Czech led 5-2 in the first set, but faced some trouble while closing out the set. She lost two games in a row but recovered in time to claim the set on her second try.
Kvitova led 3-1 in the second set and even held a couple of break points to extend her lead to 4-1. Sakkari dug deep as she managed to level the score and broke her opponent's serve towards the end of the set to take it.
The momentum was firmly on Sakkari's side by then. The Greek dropped just one game in the deciding set as she completed a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 comeback victory. She has now reached the semifinals here for a second straight year.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Maria Sakkari head-to-head
Sabalenka leads Sakkari 4-3 in the head-to-head. The latter won their previous encounter at the 2022 WTA Finals in straight sets.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Maria Sakkari odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Aryna Sabalenka vs Maria Sakkari prediction
Sabalenka served really well against Gauff in the previous round, while hitting her groundstrokes with great depth and pinning her opponent into the corners. Sakkari, on the other hand, staged another escape act, making it past Kvitova after mounting a comeback.
The Greek has been pushed to three sets in all of her matches here so far. While Sabalenka has a winning record against her, Sakkari has won their last couple of matches. During their previous meeting at last year's WTA Finals, she feasted on the Belarusian's serve, breaking it five times.
However, Sabalenka has improved a lot since then and her serving woes appear to be a thing of the past. She has lost just one match this year and is in great form. Sakkari's nerves often get the better of her in big matches, so this encounter is likely to sway in the Belarusian's favor.
Pick: Aryna Sabalenka to win in straight sets.
