Alycia Parks shares unique record with Serena Williams following victory over Maria Sakkari in Ostrava

World No. 133 Alycia Parks now shares a unique record with Serena Williams, thanks to her stunning victory over World No.7 Maria Sakkari at the 2022 AGEL Ostrava Open.

Parks and Sakkari played out a thrilling second-round encounter at the WTA 500 tournament that lasted two hours and 46 minutes. The Greek took the opening set 7-5 but the American fought back in the second and even saved a break point before winning it with the same scoreline to force the match into a decider.

Parks then saved a break point in the final set and broke Sakkari in the final game to win the match 5-7, 7-5, 7-5, reaching her maiden WTA singles quarterfinal in the process.

The 21-year-old, therefore, has joined Serena Williams on the list of American players ranked outside the Top-100 who beat a Top-10 opponent this season.

Serena Williams achieved the feat at the US Open, beating then-World No.2 Anett Kontaveit in the second round. This turned out to be the final victory of her illustrious career, as she lost to eventual quarterfinalist Ajla Tomljanovic in her next fixture.

Parks may be an unknown player but sharing a record with Serena Williams is certainly some achievement for her, which will also help throw some much-needed limelight on her performances in the coming days.

After stunning Sakkari, Parks has a quarterfinal showdown with 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova. The Czech booked her place in the last eight after her second-round opponent Belinda Bencic withdrew from their match.