Maria Sakkari opened her Toronto Open campaign in emphatic fashion, defeating Zeynep Sönmez 6-3, 6-2 to secure her place in the round of 32, where she will face a major test against Coco Gauff.
Sakkari endured a slow start after Sönmez broke serve in the opening game and quickly built a 2-0 lead. The Greek star, seeded No. 29, responded immediately by raising her level, taking control of the rallies and winning five consecutive games. She converted two breaks of serve during the run to turn a 0-2 deficit into a commanding 5-2 advantage.
Sönmez briefly delayed the inevitable by reducing the gap to 5-3, but Sakkari held her nerve in the next game. Despite missing three set points and saving a break point, she closed out the opening set 6-3.
The Greek continued her momentum in the second set, breaking Sönmez’s serve in the opening game before extending her lead to 2-0.
Although the Turkish player narrowed the score to 2-1, Sakkari remained in complete control. She won three straight games to move ahead 5-1 and stood one game away from victory.
Sönmez saved two match points and reduced the deficit to 5-2, but Sakkari finished the match comfortably in the following game. She sealed a 6-2 second-set victory to book her place in the third round, where she will meet Coco Gauff.