Greek tennis star Maria Sakkari made a commanding start to her WTA 250 Athens Open campaign on Monday, defeating Polina Kudermetova in straight sets as her fiancé, Konstantinos Mitsotakis, watched from courtside.
Sakkari, ranked No. 37 in the world, secured a 6-0, 7-6 victory over the 23-year-old Uzbek player, who is ranked No. 113, to advance to the round of 16.
The Greek champion dominated the opening set, producing an impressive display to take it 6-0 in just 24 minutes.
Kudermetova offered much stronger resistance in the second set, pushing Sakkari into a tie-break before the Greek player completed the victory.
Konstantinos Mitsotakis was seen closely following the match and enthusiastically celebrating key moments from the stands.
One of his most animated reactions came late in the second set, when Kudermetova struck the ball into the net with the score tied at 5-5, moving Sakkari closer to victory.
Sakkari will next face the winner of the match between Germany’s Mina Hodzic, ranked No. 288, and Britain’s Harriet Dart, ranked No. 93, for a place in the quarter-finals.
The Athens tournament marks an important home appearance for Sakkari, who received strong support from the crowd during her opening match.