Maria Sakkari shed tears of joy in the early hours of Sunday morning in Guadalajara after her 2-0 win over American Caroline Dolehide in the tournament final that gave her her first title in four years and the second most important of her career.
Maria Sakkari in the 9th final of her career won in 1.43′ 7-5, 6-3 over American Caroline Dolehide (No111) and won her second title after 4 years (2019, Morocco).
At the end of the match, Maria Sakkari, after greeting the American with a hug and the referee with a handshake, ran with tears to Tom Hill who was also emotional after his athlete’s difficult four years.
Then while the cameras were focused on the American, the open mic “caught” Maria talking to her mother, Angeliki Kanellopoulou, who was on the other end of the phone line as she called her at the first opportunity. “Mother, I did it!” Sakkari can be heard saying, with emotion running high in both of them, as was evident at the award ceremony shortly afterward.
In her remarks at the award ceremony, she mentioned the great Gabriella Sabatini who was there and dedicated the title to her grandfather who died in the summer of 2022.
This one’s yours, Maria 🥹@mariasakkari defeats Dolehide, 7-5, 6-3 to win her first EVER WTA 1000 title in Guadalajara!!! 🏆#GDLOpenAKRON pic.twitter.com/UcE4EGoIFA
— wta (@WTA) September 24, 2023
🎊 C H A M P I O N 🎊@mariasakkari pic.twitter.com/OMDN5j3bSP
— wta (@WTA) September 24, 2023
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