Once that was out of the way, she wasn’t content to cede control of the interview, continuing to tease the press.
“You tell me: what did you think about the match? I’m asking the questions now!”
Sakkari would have been forgiven for being in lower spirits: a former world No. 3, her decision to cut her 2024 season short has led to a steep drop in the WTA rankings, starting the week in qualifying for the second time this year.
In both matches, she rallied from a set down, solving Polish lefty Maja Chwalinska, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the latter to book her place in the main draw.
“If I want to get back to the Top 10, I have to face some challenges, and I have to accept the fact that I’ll have to go through some qualies,” she said. “I was obviously disappointed that the tournament didn’t give me a wild card, but at the same time, I think it was a good thing to play qualies just to help me accept the situation I’m in right now with my ranking.”
