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By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, January 9, 2021

 
Maria Sakkari

Russian qualifier Anastasia Gasanova stunned former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 6-4 and Maria Sakkari stopped Coco Gauff for the second time in six months in Abu Dhabi.

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve

An old tennis adage tells us what you don’t know can hurt you.

World No. 292 Anastasia Gasanova left Karolina Pliskova looking positively pained in Abu Dhabi.

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Playing just the second WTA main-draw match of her career, the Russian qualifier shocked former world No. 1 Pliskova 6-2, 6-4 charging into the Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Open round of 16.

The stirring ease of her 72-minute sweep left the 21-year-old Gasanova both elated and slightly astounded.

“It was not me on the court,” Gasanova told the media afterward. “I was so sure of myself. I’m really happy right now.

“I’m really surprised. But when I woke up today, I thought ‘Why not? Why can’t I win this match?’

“And to play against a Top 10 player is a great opportunity for me, and it’s a great chance to show how I could play."



It was Gasanova’s first career Top 100 victory and came one round after she swept Mona Barthel by the identical score in her WTA main-draw debut.

Launching 2021 with modest expectations of cracking the Top 200 for the first time, Gasanova will now face 66th-ranked Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo for a quarterfinal spot.

“Actually, I thought I would lose in qualifiers or something like that, but I just kept pushing myself, like, I need to win and I want to win,” Gasanova said.

It was the third-seeded Pliskova’s first loss to a player ranked outside the Top 50 since 2019 Beijing when she bowed to No. 73 Jelena Ostapenko.

Tennis Express

Pliskova, who started the new season working with new coach Sascha Bajin, couldn’t match the qualifier’s energy or intensity at the outset.

Gasanova broke one of the game’s biggest servers twice in succession and won eight of the first nine points on her own serve streaking to a 4-0 lead. Gasanova backed up her serve with confident strikes breezing through 12 of the final 14 points on her serve, including a pair of love holds, to snatch a one-set lead.




The pair exchanged breaks in the second set. Even after eight games, Gasanova broke at 15 for 5-4 and served out the biggest win of her career at 30.

On match point number three, Pliskova missed a forehand return and Gasanova lifted her left hand to her face forgoing any elaborate celebration for the traditional racquet tap.

In a match of explosive athletes, Maria Sakkari roared back from a double break down defeating Coco Gauff 7-5, 6-2.

The match was a rematch of the Western & Southern Open clash at Flushing Meadows last August where Sakkari steamrolled to a 6-1, 6-3 opening-round win.

This time around, the 16-year-old Gauff hit her second serve with more confidence but Sakkari successfully broke down the American teenager’s forehand on pivotal points. In the opening game, Gauff’s net-cord return earned her a third break point. When Sakkari yanked a mis-hit forehand wide, Gauff had the break. The teenager backed up the break at 15 for 2-0.

A subdued Sakkari gifted a second straight break with her third double fault in the third game.

Collaborating with coach Tom Hill, Sakkari took a clear game plan into this match: target Gauff’s weaker forehand wing with pace and spin. Exploiting the combination of the quick court, fast flight of the ball through the desert air and the American’s loopier forehand backswing, Sakkari sometimes rushed Gauff into mis-hits and errors off that side.

The Greek started to play with a bit more energy running down a drop shot and lacing a backhand down the line to break back. Slashing an ace out wide, Sakkari stamped a love hold for 2-3.

Attacking the American’s longer swing on her forehand side, Sakkari dipped a low pass and Gauff sent a forehand volley long as the Greek scored her second straight break.

By then Sakkari was striking with more purpose as she plowed through her fourth straight game for 4-3.

Struggling to break through the Greek’s defense, Gauff was rushing through rallies trying to end points prematurely. When the American pushed a forehand volley into net, Sakkari broke at love for 5-3.

Gauff stopped her slide breaking back at love to get back on serve after nine games.

A crackling exchange saw Sakkari attack a mid-court ball banging a backhand winner for set point. Gauff saved it then showed her anticipation digging out a low volley then scrambling at net for two more volleys that helped her hold to level at 5-all.

On her third set point, Sakkari launched herself into a high forehand that caught the baseline. Sakkari’s fourth break earned her the 52-minute opening set.

The 22nd-ranked Sakkari played with more purpose off the forehand side more than doubling Gauff’s winner total—13 to 5—in the opening set.

As the second set progressed, Sakkari briefly lost the range on second serve hitting a couple of double faults—her sixth and seventh double faults of the match—to face three break points in the third game. She slid an ace wide to save the third then Gauff’s forehand failed her with a couple of errors as Sakkari stood tall holding for 2-1.

Timing issues continue to trouble Gauff’s forehand. She briefly covered her eyes with her hand after botching a forehand into net to face break point in the fourth game. Credit Gauff for trying to change it up, but she wasn’t completely committed to attacking behind a crosscourt backhand and paid the price when Sakkari slid a low pass breaking for 3-1.

Still, Sakkari had to weed out the unruly double faults popping up in her service games. She withstood a double fault and dodged a bullet when a Gauff return was called wide to consolidate in the fifth game.

Firing her fourth ace down the middle, Sakkari sealed a love hold blocking a short-angled volley for 5-2.

On this night, Sakkari, despite the slow start and some double-fault issues, was too sharp for Gauff.

Dancing around her backhand, Sakkari tomahawked a diagonal forehand wrapping her second straight win over Gauff in 88 minutes.

The ninth-seeded Sakkari will square off against fifth-seeded Garbine Muguruza for a quarterfinal place against the Sofia Kenin-Yulia Putintseva winner.

Two-time Grand Slam Muguruza broke serve seven times in a 6-1, 6-4 sweep of Aliaksandra Sasnovich.



No. 2-seeded Elina Svitolina won six straight games closing a 6-4, 6-1 conquest of former world No. 1 Vera Zvonareva. Svitolina has surrendered just 12 games setting up a round-of-16 encounter with Ekaterina Alexandrova.

The 33rd-ranked Russian squeezed out a 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-3 victory over Heather Watson.

Marta Kostyuk battled past Su-Wei Hsieh 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3. The 18-year-old Kostyuk will play 87th-ranked Tamara Zidansek for a place in the final eight. Zidansek upset 11th-seeded American Jennifer Brady in round one.


 

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