Sakkari wins twice in one day to make D.C. semifinals

In her tournament debut, No.4 seed Maria Sakkari

View Profile of Greece picked up two straight-sets victories on Friday to book her spot in the Mubadala Citi DC Open semifinals.

Following her first-round bye, Sakkari finally began her Washington D.C. campaign on Friday morning with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez

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Sakkari came back on court hours later and scored a 6-3, 6-3 win over No.7 seed Madison Keys

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"You cannot control the weather, and sometimes you just have to accept that might happen in a tournament," Sakkari said after her two comfortable wins. "At the end of the day, I just won both matches, which is great, and I’m very excited to keep going."

Quick quarterfinal: In Sakkari's second match of the day, Keys fended off five break points during a tight hold for 3-3 in the opening set, but Sakkari won eight of the next nine points to lead 5-3. Sakkari consolidated her break to clinch the first set, where she never faced a break point.

Sakkari took early control in the second set, breaking Keys in the first game. The American saw her only two break points come and go in the following game, where Sakkari battled back from 15-40 to hold for 2-0 and retain the upper hand.

Sakkari broke Keys for a third time in the final game of the match, wrapping up the win after 1 hour and 14 minutes. Sakkari won nearly 82 percent of her first-service points in the quarterfinal showdown.

Pegula awaits: In the semifinals, Sakkari will take on another American, No.1 seed Jessica Pegula

View Profile . Earlier on Friday, Pegula came back from a set down to squeak past Elina Svitolina

View Profile in their quarterfinal meeting.

Sakkari holds a slim 4-3 head-to-head lead over Pegula overall. However, Pegula won their only meeting this year, a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 hard-court clash in the Doha semifinals.

"I have massive respect for her, and I feel like it’s going to be a great match," Sakkari said, looking ahead to Pegula. "We’ve played each other many times [and] it’s gone both ways. I feel like it’s going to be another great challenge for me and I’m looking forward to it."