Maria Sakkari survives tricky second set against Vekic to advance in Linz

Maria Sakkari barely avoided having to play a 3rd set in Linz as she won a close second set tiebreak against Donna Vekic to win the match 6-3 7-6(8).

It was a well-contested match between two players who started this year rather well. Sakkari was much better in the first set taking an early lead of 3-1 after which she comfortably cruised to a 6-3 finish. She didn't do as well as Vekic did but played a bit better in rallies to win most of the crucial ones.

The second set was far more competitive as Vekic produced a much better level even if her serve was a bit worse. Sakkari broke her early for the 2-0 lead but Vekic broke back to turn the score around 3-2. The Croatian had far more success in the rallies this time around but Sakkari was still on top.

She took a 4-3 lead and then held from 0-40 to take the 5-3 lead seemingly ending the match on the spot. It didn't as Vekic won her service game and then broke Sakkari to make it 5-5 saving a match point in the process. We ended up in a tiebreak where Sakkari took a 2-0 lead but Vekic turned it around making it 6-3. Sakkari would save a couple of set points, five in total to survive and end it 10-8 avoiding a 3rd set.