Sakkari looked mightily impressive winning 6-1, 6-3 and believes that the serve was the key for her to gain the victory as it gained her lots of 'cheap points'.

The Greek ace also took time to laud praise on the 16-year-old who has dazzled many over the past year and believes that her room for improvement is key as it'll propel her higher.

"I think my serve was one thing that really worked well today and gave me a lot of cheap points; if I can call them like that," Sakkari later told reporters.

"I think the toughest spot was just to follow the tactic the whole time, like always; but I'm very satisfied, because after a long time I got to play on that level."

"I think one thing that I like about her, that not many girls have is that she's quick, and maybe I like that because I'm also quick. We are not many on tour," Sakkari added.

"She's really young and she has many good things already in her game... She has a lot of room for improvement on a good way, so that's going to take her on a very high level. But having the right tactic with any player gives you the best result. I think that was the key."

"[I'm happy with] the way I competed. It's tough after coming from a long stop to find your fighting spirit and your strength inside the court; so that's the thing that I'm really happy that I found today," she concluded. "I always do well in the States. I love the U.S., and I'm really happy to be back."

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