Maria Sakkari has made a pretty strong start at the WTA 500 tournament in Linz after dismantling world No. 64 Viktoriya Tomova 6-3 6-2 in an hour and 17 minutes of play.
The No. 3 seed – who had a first-round bye at the Austrian event – earned the first break of the match in the second game.
Instantly in the following game, the Bulgarian had a chance to get the break back but failed to convert a break point.
In the rest of the set, Sakkari missed out on two break points in the sixth game but it didn’t change much since she routinely held on to her serve to close out the opener.
The Greek then continued her fine play early at the start of the second set, claiming back-to-back breaks to win five games in a row and open a 5-1 lead.
In the seventh game, Sakkari had a chance to finish the match on a six-game run but she didn’t convert a match point on Tomova’s serve.
However, she remained calm and put an end to the match on her serve in the following game.
Maria Sakkari and Viktoriya Tomova© X screenshot
During the match, the former world No. 3 fired five aces – realized three of seven break points – and saved the lone break point she faced.
Now, the No. 3 seed awaits in the quarterfinal the winner of the match between No. 5 seed Dayana Yastremska and Antonia Ruzic.
Sakkari bounced back from a disappointing Australian Open loss
Before coming to Linz, the Greek disappointingly lost to Camila Osorio in the Australian Open first round.
That loss put her on a 2-5 record in 2025 as she also didn’t do particularly well at the United Cup or the Adelaide International.
Considering her slow start to the season, it was absolutely important for Sakkari to make a good start in Linz and try to make a run.
In the past, the former world No. 3 played in Linz once and reached the semifinal in 2023.
Tennis World USA