"Mentally I have been in a very good place" says Maria Sakkari on first week in Melbourne

Maria Sakkari scored another straight set win in Melbourne to reach the 4th round of the 2022 Australian Open.

Two years ago, Maria Sakkari's first major breakthrough came at the 2020 Australian Open when she reached the fourth round at a Grand Slam for the first time. She's back in the last 16 in 2022 as a Top 10 player. It's been a great start for her and she is well aware of that:

"It has been a great start, not dropping a set, not getting too tired in my first matches, just finishing the matches in time. It feels great because I feel fresh and I feel ready for the second week. I know that from now on matches are going to get tougher. Not that they were easy, I don't want to sound like that. I think I managed well, my emotions. Haven't been playing maybe my best tennis but I know it's going to come. Mentally I have been in a very good place which I think is the most important thing."

Next up will be Jessica Pegula who is playing a solid event herself. Sakkari and Pegula played a brilliant match in Miami last year where the Greek player won the match after saving six match points.On that matchup she said:

"I'm expecting a very tough match. I think her groundstrokes are very flat and fast. She has a great rhythm. Mentally she's very good. She keeps calm. You'll never see her breaking racquets or doing these things. I think mentally, she's very good. She's mature, which makes it a lot easier. She has a great game overall. But she's a very nice girl so I'm very looking forward to the match."