"I was very very bad" - Sakkari explains hospital stay ahead of Doha tournament

Maria Sakkari took down Coco Gauff booking a spot in the semifinal but she also revealed issues she faced before the event started.

The start of the week was suboptimal for Sakkari as she revealed that she had started the week requiring hospital treatment on Monday:

"This tournament did not start the way I wanted. I was in the hospital all Monday morning. I had a very sharp pain in my lower stomach. I just didn't know if I was going to be able to play this tournament, because I was very, very bad, like I was dying. Three hours before the match, I just left the hospital and, OK, I'll go try and play and see what I can do"

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She further said:

"Three days later, I'm in the semifinal, which gave me actually a lot of confidence, because it shows how much mental strength I have and of course physical strength, as well. I'm good [now]. Not 100%, I still get aches and pains on my stomach, but I'm a lot better. You can tell that I'm in good shape. With the way I played today and yesterday, I'm feeling good again."