Maria Sakkari knocked out reigning champion Paula Badosa in Friday’s Indian Wells semi-finals and will take on Iga Swiatek in the title decider after the world number four fought back from a break down in each set to overpower Simona Halep.

Sakkari, who had won only two of her last 14 semi-finals, broke down in tears after reaching the biggest title match of her career following a 6-2 4-6 6-1 win over Spain’s Badosa in the California desert.

“I work my entire life to get to this, to the late stages of the tournaments. It means a lot to me,” said Sakkari, who is ranked sixth in the world.

The 26-year-old powered through the opening set with ease but lost momentum in the second before rediscovering her first-set level and cruising to a nerveless conclusion, hitting 28 winners in total.

source nypost.com