Sensational Maria Sakkari dominates Storm Hunter to reach Guadalajara Open round of 16

Maria Sakkari maintained her composure and defeated Storm Hunter in straight sets, advancing to the round of 16 at the Guadalajara Open with a score of 6-2, 6-4.

The 29-year-old Australian returned to the singles main draw at a WTA 1000 event for the first time since the Miami Open, where she went through the qualifying rounds and lost in the first round to Sofia Kenin.

In the opening round, Storm Hunter (157th) defeated Belarusian player Iryna Shymanovich (160th) with a score of 6-3, 6-4, marking her first victory at a WTA 1000 event since the 2021 Miami Open when she defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the first round.

World No. 9 Sakkari arrived in Guadalajara after a disappointing first-round exit at the US Open against Rebeka Masarova (64th) and a quarter-final exit in San Diego, where she lost in a third-set tiebreak to Emma Navarro (46th) with a score of 4-6, 6-0, 6-7(4).

The first set of the match between Hunter and Sakkari saw the Greek player dominating, winning 14 of the first 16 points and taking a 3-0 lead with a break in her favor. The Australian improved her game and managed to hold her serve in the next two games while threatening her opponent with a break point in the seventh game.

Hunter once again struggled with her serve in the eighth game and conceded the first set to Sakkari by a score of 6-2. Sakkari won 65% of the contested points and capitalized on Hunter's service deficiencies, winning 85% of the points played with her opponent's second serve.

Former world No. 3 couldn't maintain her momentum at the start of the second set and quickly dropped her serve to her opponent, who held her serve without major issues until 4-3, when Sakkari secured another break to level the score.

The second seed didn't waver under pressure and ultimately secured another break and the victory with a score of 6-2, 6-4. In the round of 16, she will face Camila Giorgi, who defeated Mayar Sherif (14th seed) and Cristina Bucsa, both in straight sets.