Sakkari: “A month ago I couldn’t put the ball over the net”

THE Maria Sakkari spoke about the difficulties he has faced recently and the exciting semi-final with Coco Goff, ahead of Indian Wells final against Iga Svyotek

In detail, what he said at the press conference ahead of the final:

On whether she thought she could win such a match against Coco Goff six months ago: “Of course not! We say in tennis one day can change everything, but a month ago I was in Abu Dhabi and I couldn’t put the ball over the net. And now I’m in one of the biggest tournaments and I’m playing another final. They are lessons and you have to accept there will be bad moments, but things can change in a week. I’m glad this week is when things start to change because you know how much I love this place and I told myself I want to stay as long as possible. And that’s where we’ll stay until Sunday, Monday.”

For her shocking comeback in the semi-final: “I knew it would be difficult. A lot happened today, delays due to rain. Obviously the 2nd set could have been different, but I was thinking too much about the finish line, thinking about how to close out the match. That didn’t help, it freaked me out a bit, I was very stressed. But I’m proud that I kept my composure and fought in the third set.”

About what her new coach told her: “David just told me he’s happy the match went the way it did, because it’s going to make me stronger. He told me that he knows I would like to win 6-4, 6-2, but I have to take the positives. And I agree with him.”

On how he managed to bounce back in the second set: “I thought the easy thing would be to give up, but I wanted to challenge myself one more time and see what I can do after losing the 2nd set. I also told myself that I am not the first, nor the last, to lose a set or a match after a match point and that gave me strength. I put a style in my game where I had to be more aggressive and mix things up a bit. I think I was too predictable at the end of the 2nd set. I’m happy that I managed to close the match.”

For the change of coach in the middle of the year: “It’s always difficult to change a coach. It’s not the middle of the season, but it’s been three months. And, of course, it’s our first tournament. I think we are doing well! As I said again, he wouldn’t come to change things. I knew we were going to work on some things, like we do these days, to get better. I will be honest with him about what I need to work on and he will be honest with me. I think we can build something very good.”

For the final with Iga Sviontek: “It’s crazy that our last match was two years ago. I would say we were both different two years ago. A few weeks before the Indian Wells final her winning streak began. My lead (3-2 head-to-head lead) means nothing because she is the best player in the world right now. I will try to increase the gap, but it will be very difficult.

I can’t say much because we haven’t faced each other in the last two years. It’s different to see a player against other opponents and not you. What I know for sure is that she is very good, I am very good and we will just fight to win the tournament. I want to start thinking about it tomorrow. It will definitely be very difficult.”