Miami: Maria Sakkari of Greece brought world number two Naomi Osaka's 23-match winning streak to an end in stunning fashion in the Miami Open quarterfinals, claiming victory 6-0, 6-4 in just 69 minutes.
The Japanese star had not lost a match in over a year, winning last year's US Open and this season's Australian Open. But in the quarterfinal clash against Sakkari, Osaka just could not find a way out, Xinhua news reports.
Meanwhile, Sakkari delivered an impeccable performance, striking 22 winners and coming from 0-3 down in the second set. By contrast, Osaka committed 23 unforced errors and struck only five winners.
Also Read: Watch | I felt really nervous: Osaka on first match back since Australian Open win
"I don't think it was the best tennis I have ever played in my life," said Sakkari. "I think I executed our strategy really well. I just did what I had to do. I'm not going to tell you what. What we discussed before the match, I just did it most of the match, except maybe a couple of games where things didn't go right."
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SAKKARI HAS DONE IT!
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) March 31, 2021 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
The 🇬🇷 ends Naomi Osaka's 23-match winning streak in dominant fashion in Miami. #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/oSlHgE8SeW
">SAKKARI HAS DONE IT!
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) March 31, 2021
The 🇬🇷 ends Naomi Osaka's 23-match winning streak in dominant fashion in Miami. #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/oSlHgE8SeWSAKKARI HAS DONE IT!
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) March 31, 2021
The 🇬🇷 ends Naomi Osaka's 23-match winning streak in dominant fashion in Miami. #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/oSlHgE8SeW
Sakkari will next play eighth seed Bianca Andreescu of Canada, who dropped serve eight times but still outlasted unseeded Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
