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Maria Sakkari's shock defeat in her tournament opener at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Open has left tennis fans thoroughly disappointed.
Sakkari has started her 2024 season on a shaky note. Following a quarterfinal finish for Greece at the United Cup, the 28-year-old suffered a setback at the Australian Open. The eighth seed commenced her campaign with a dominant 6-4, 6-1 win over Nao Hibino. However, she stumbled in the second round against Elina Avanesyan, who pulled off a stunning upset with a 6-4, 6-4 win.
Subsequently, Maria Sakkari entered the Abu Dhabi Open as the third seed. Following a first-round bye, she squared off against Sorana Cirstea for a place in the quarterfinals. Cirstea dominated the encounter, securing a 6-2, 6-1 victory. The Romanian delivered a clinical performance, breaking the World No. 9's serve five times without conceding a single break of serve in return.
Tennis fans were dismayed at the Greek's performance, with the brunt of their frustration being focused on her continued presence in the top 10 and her career-high ranking of World No. 3, which she achieved in March 2022.
"Sakkari crawling to top 3 is one of the greatest underdog stories given how garbage she is 💀," a fan commented.
"I like Maria but still can never believe she's a top 10 player 😭," one fan posted.
"Her career high is no. 3, I cannot fathom how that happened," another fan chimed in.
Another fan suggested that the Greek's performance was all the more "shocking" because of her defeat to Cirstea, who was struggling with form herself.
"Absolutely shocking from sakkari considering cirstea hadn’t won a match in 7 matches before this tournament 🫣," the fan shared.
Here are a few more reactions from fans:
Maria Sakkari set to feature in a star-studded lineup at Indian Wells 2024
The 2024 Indian Wells Open is set to be a star-studded affair as the entire WTA top 10 will be in action at the WTA 1000 event, which commences on March 7. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will headline the event, aiming to win her second title at the prestigious tournament.
Defending champion Elena Rybakina and last year's runner-up Aryna Sabalenka will aspire to continue their success at the event. Meanwhile, World No. 3 Coco Gauff and World No. 4 Jessica Pegula will look to produce a home champion on American soil.
World No. 9 Maria Sakkari will join Ons Jabeur, Zheng Qinwen, Marketa Vondrousova, and Karolina Muchova to round out the top 10 players taking part in the tournament.
Maria Sakkari has enjoyed success at the WTA 1000 event, achieving a runner-up finish in 2022 after losing to Swiatek in the final. She also reached the semifinals last year, where she was defeated by Sabalenka in straight sets.
