World No. 25 Maria Sakkari of Greece will face wild-card Mayar Sherif of Egypt in the opening round of the Qatar Open on Monday, March 1, with the match likely to begin at around 11 am local time. Get the live streaming options of this Maria Sakkari v Mayar Sherif match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Maria Sakkari v Mayar Sherif Head to Head
They met once at a lower level tournament in Vinoroz in 2013, with the Egyptian emerging the winner.
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Sakkari Aiming to Break the Semis Jinx
Two semifinals followed by a shock first-round exit from the Australian Open, that’s how Greece’s Maria Sakkari has kickstarted the new year.
The World No. 25, who picked her only WTA title in Rabat in 2019, began the season with a run to the final four in Abu Dhabi.
Playing as the ninth seed in the season-opener, Sakkari defeated Russia’s Anastasia Potapova in the first round, Cori Gauff in the next and fifth seed Garbine Muguruza in the Round of 16, all in straight sets.
In the quarterfinal, Sakkari lost the first set 2-6 to top seed Sofia Kenin, but made a scintillating comeback to win the contest 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 and set-up a semifinal clash with Aryna Sabalenka, who eventually stopped the Greek from reaching her third career final.
At the Grampians Trophy in Melbourne, Sakkari won her first two rounds against Canada’s Leylah Fernandez and Angelique Kerber to enter her third successive semifinal (she also reached the final four at the Ostrava Open in October 2020), but once again failed to advance to the summit clash, falling to Annet Kontaveit in a third set match tiebreak.
The 25-year-old aggressive right-hander, who produced her best Grand Slam results in 2020, reaching the fourth rounds of the Australian and the U.S. Open for the first time in her career, was beaten by Kristina Mladenoivc in the first round of the Australian Open earlier this year.
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Sherif, Making an Impression
Facing Sakkari in the first round will be World No. 114 Mayar Sherif, who created history by becoming the first woman from Egypt to win a main draw match at a Grand Slam, when she defeated France’s Chloe Pacquet in the opening round of the Australian Open this year.
The 24-year-old, who made her WTA singles debut in Prague last year, had become the first woman from Egypt to enter the main draw of a major when she qualified for the French Open in 2020. Entering her first major with three straight-forward wins in the qualifiers, Sherif took the first set off No. 2 seed Karolina Pliskova, before going down fighting against the Czech star.
This year, Sherif qualified for the Melbourne major after winning all three of her qualification rounds and then advancing to the Round of 64 with an impressive first-round display, but she was stopped from progressing further by Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan. Once again Sherif had taken the first set, but failed to close out the contest.
The Egyptian right-hander, who has won nine ITF titles, also featured in the Yarra Valley Classic this year, losing her first round match to Serbia’s Nina Stojanovic.
Sakkari v Sherif Prediction and Tip
Sherif has shown the ability to lift her game against quality opponents, but has been edgy in close contests. Expect her to give Sakkari a good fight, but in the end the Greek should come through unscathed.
Tip: Sakkari to win in straight sets: 1/2 (bet365)
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The 2021 WTA Doha Open will be played from March 1 to 7. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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