Sakkari, Sasnovich ease into Berlin quarterfinals

No.2 seed Maria Sakkari booked her spot in the bett1open quarterfinals with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Daria Saville. Sakkari of Greece took 90 minutes to defeat Australian qualifier Saville and reach her sixth quarterfinal of the season.

World No.6 Sakkari collected her 24th victory of the year by knocking out Saville, which puts the Greek tied for third-most match-wins on tour in 2022 so far.

"I think the first set was almost perfect for me," Sakkari said afterward. "Not many unforced errors, I was very aggressive, I was serving really well. I think that [Saville] stepped up her game, she started playing better. ... It was a very close second set. I stayed focused when I had to, and I’m very glad with the way I played."

Former Top 20 player Saville, on the comeback trail after persistent injuries over the last few seasons, has picked up 12 wins over Top 10 players in her career.

But Sakkari, who had 21 winners to just 10 unforced errors on the day, refused to hand another upset to the Aussie. Sakkari is now into her fourth career tour-level quarterfinal on grass, with her other three grass-court quarterfinal results all coming at Nottingham.

Sakkari earned the first break of the match to take a 3-1 lead after slamming a forehand return winner to close out the game. Sakkari swept through the rest of the opener without facing a break point.

The second set was much closer as Saville, currently on the brink of a Top 100 return, matched Sakkari shot for shot. But a sturdy forehand gave Sakkari the critical break to lead 6-5, and she served out the match with ease in the next game.

Sakkari will be tested by No.6 seed Daria Kasatkina in the quarterfinals. Kasatkina has won all four of their previous matches, including on the clay of Madrid last month. This will be their first meeting on grass.

"In Madrid, [Kasatkina] played a very good game," Sakkari said. "I was up a set, I had my chances, but I didn’t take them. She’s a fighter, she’s been on tour for a while even though she’s very young, so I’m expecting a very tough match. She’s going to bring out a lot of energy, a good fight, and I’m ready for it."

Also on Wednesday, Aliaksandra Sasnovich ended the hopes for a German singles titlist in Berlin this year. World No.38 Sasnovich ousted the last remaining German, 59th-ranked Andrea Petkovic, 6-4, 6-4 to claim a quarterfinal spot.

Former Top 10 player Petkovic defeated a Top 20 player on grass for the first time in 10 tries on Tuesday, when she upset No.5 seed Garbiñe Muguruza.

But Sasnovich had beaten Petkovic in their last two meetings, and she continued her successful streak against the German with a 1-hour and 37-minute win this time around. Sasnovich converted five of her nine break points to triumph.

Sasnovich will contest her first tour-level quarterfinal on grass against the winner of the second-round match between No.1 seed Ons Jabeur and qualifier Alycia Parks. Jabeur and Parks will square off on Thursday.