Wimbledon 2024: Maria Sakkari beats Mccartney Kessler, reaches second round
What's the story
Ninth seed Maria Sakkari reached the second round at 2024 Wimbledon after beating the United States of America's Mccartney Kessler. Sakkari claimed a 6-3, 6-1 win in the first round after over an hour. The Greek star has finally broken the deadlock in the grass-court Grand Slam, having suffered a first-round exit in 2023. Here are the key stats.
Stats
A look at match stats
Sakkari won a total of 59 points and 24 winners throughout the match. She served five aces compared to Kessler's two. Sakkari had a win percentage of 78 and 48 in the first and second serves, respectively. She won 29 of her 58 receiving points. Sakkari (23) had more unforced errors than Kessler (15). The latter recorded three double-faults.
Wimbledon
Sakkari clears the first round
As mentioned, Sakkari finally cleared the first round at Wimbledon after getting eliminated last year. Interestingly, the Greek star hasn't ever gone past the third round at this major. She now owns 9-7 record here. Notably, Sakkari is a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist, having reached this stage at the French Open and US Open, both in 2021.
Form
Sakkari bounces back after losing successive matches
Sakkari entered the 2024 Wimbledon after facing three successive defeats. She lost to Jule Niemeier, Victoria Azarenka, and Varvara Gracheva at the Homburg Open, Ecotrans Ladies Open, and Roland Garros. In March, Sakkari finished as the runner-up at the BNP Paribas Open, losing to Iga Swiatek. She had reached her fourth WTA 1000 final. She is now 19-12 on the WTA Tour in 2024.