"Hard work and persistence paid off" - Sabatini praises Sakkari for mentioning her during Guadalajara victory speech
WTA
Retired Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini was full of praise for Maria Sakkari, following the Greek star's title run at the Guadalajara Open Akron this past weekend.
The World No.6 defeated American Caroline Dolehide 7-5 6-3 to capture her first second career WTA title, and first title in over four years.
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Sakkari thanks Sabatini in speech, prompting a heartfelt response from the Argentine
Following her victory, Sakkari expressed her gratitude to Sabatini for attending the match. Furthermore, she recalled the retired Argentine's matches with her mother, Angeliki Kanellopoulou, emphasizing how both she and her mother look up to the former World No.3.
"Gabi, thank you for being here today," said Sakkari during the speech. "I know you played with my mum. I know you were a lot better than her but she admires you a lot and you know she always spoke very highly about you. You're a person that she looked up to and I looked up to and thank you for being here. It was a pure inspiration having you courtside today."
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Sabatini took to social media soon after the matching, posting her thoughts alongside a reshared video of Sakkari receiving the trophy.
"Congrats @mariasakkari, big win! Hard work and persistence paid off 🙌🏻 So great to see your smile and love always. Thank you for your beautiful words ❤️#GDLOpenAKRON," Sabatini posted.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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