\n<\/p>\n
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 fianc\u00e9, Konstantinos Mitsotakis, watched from courtside.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Greek champion dominated the opening set, producing an impressive display to take it 6-0 in just 24 minutes.<\/p>\n
Kudermetova offered much stronger resistance in the second set, pushing Sakkari into a tie-break before the Greek player completed the victory.<\/p>\n
Konstantinos Mitsotakis was seen closely following the match and enthusiastically celebrating key moments from the stands.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Sakkari will next face the winner of the match between Germany\u2019s Mina Hodzic, ranked No. 288, and Britain\u2019s Harriet Dart, ranked No. 93, for a place in the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n
The Athens tournament marks an important home appearance for Sakkari, who received strong support from the crowd during her opening match.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n