Maria Sakkari celebrates Madrid Open 2R win by screaming in umpire's direction after altercation

Maria Sakkari earned her first victory in a month and a half at the 2023 Madrid Open on Thursday.

The ninth seed played her opening match of the tournament against Arantxa Rus, and extended her clean record against the Dutch player. Sakkari closed out the encounter in one hour and 35 minutes, with the score reading 6-4, 6-4, for her fifth win over Rus.

That said, Maria Sakkari had to fend off three break points when she served for the match. The high-pressure situation led to a spicy altercation between the Greek and the chair umpire as they argued over a questionable call at break point.

After finally sealing the deal in the same game, Sakkari let out a passionate scream, seemingly jeering the chair umpire.

The win was crucial for Sakkari, who had entered the tournament on the back of a three-match losing streak. Her last win before Thursday had come against Petra Kvitova, in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells.

Sakkari lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the Indian Wells semis, and then suffered an opening-match defeat to Bianca Andreescu at the Miami Open. This was followed by a loss against Karolina Pliskova in Stuttgart.

Through to the Round of 32 at the Madrid Open, the former World No. 3 will now face off against Spain's Rebeka Masarova.

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"The way he's handling it and his whole mentality is very unique" – Maria Sakkari on Giannis Antetokounmpo

Maria Sakkari after 2023 Miami Open loss

Maria Sakkari has struggled with her form in recent months, but is trying to maintain a positive attitude about the situation. She recently talked about her compatriot and NBA player Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose response to a journalist’s question about “failure” went viral after the Milwaukee Bucks’ playoff loss.

“It's not a failure, it's steps to success. Michael Jordan played 15 years, won six championships. The other nine years was a failure? There's no failure in sports. There's good days, bad days. Some days you're able to be successful, some days you're not,” Giannis Antetokounmpo explained.

Sakkari, who is friends with Giannis, echoed his sentiments and stated that his response should serve as a wake-up call for the general public.

“It's a wake-up call for everyone outside of sports to understand what it means when you lose or when you don't achieve your goals,” Sakkari said after her 2R Madrid Open win. “It's not the end of the world.”

The World No. 9 praised the basketball player for his take and called him her “idol.”

“The way he's handling it and his whole mentality is very unique. That's why he's my idol,” she said.

She also revealed Giannis Antetokounmpo’s views on tennis, which, according to him, is the “toughest sport.”

“He always says that tennis is the toughest sport. Tennis is a sport where we lose every week and you have to go again and erase it and go again from zero,” Maria Sakkari remarked.