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Maria Sakkari hit a personal peak in the desert—and she's hungry for more.
Sakkari launched this week's Qatar Total Open ranked in the Top 20 for the first time.
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The 20th-ranked Greek celebrated the occasion topping Julia Goerges in her Doha opener while dreaming of bigger things.
"It's a dream coming true to be among top 20 players but I don't want to stop here,” Sakkari said. “I see myself much higher and that's what I'm gonna work for. It's a very good goal to achieve but I want to keep on working for some more.”
It's the second ranking milestone for Sakkari, whose mom, Angeliki, achieved a Top 50 WTA ranking during her playing days. Maria still recalls her mom's reaction when she surpassed her in the rankings.
"I still remember I was in Rome when were were like laying down in bed the two of us," Sakkari said. "She was like 'Oh Maria, I'm so sad you are like highter ranked than me.' I mean of course she was joking. I think she was very proud of me."
Sakkari has set her sights on rising higher.
"Well, if I knew how long it would take [to reach the Top 20] I wouldn't be a tennis player," Sakkari joked. "But, yeah, I mean, it's a great achievement, it's a great first step for me. But as I said multiple times, I believe in my abilities and I believe that I can be even higher than that.
"Of course it gives me a lot of confidence, but actually no feeling of pressure that I have to win matches to keep the level. I know that I will have good moments, I know that I will have bad moments, so as long as I can just eliminate the bad moments I will get higher."
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve