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Match details
Fixture: (1) Maria Sakkari vs Irina-Camelia Begu.
Date: 12 February 2022.
Tournament: St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Round: Semifinals.
Venue: St. Petersburg, Russia.
Category: WTA 500.
Surface: Indoor Hardcourt.
Match timing: 2 pm local time, 11 am GMT, 6 am ET, 4:30 pm IST.
Prize money: $703,580.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Maria Sakkari vs Irina-Camelia Begu preview
Top seed Maria Sakkari will aim to reach her first final of the season when she takes on World No. 56 Irina-Camelia Begu in St. Petersburg on Saturday.
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Sakkari enjoyed her career-best season in 2021, reaching a couple of Grand Slam semifinals. However, the Greek has made a slow start to the new year. After a second-round exit in Adelaide, she crashed out of the Australian Open in the fourth round.
The World No. 7 has, however, managed to put those setbacks behind her with a strong showing so far in St. Petersburg.
Yet to drop a set in three matches, Sakkari has beaten some quality opponents in Anastasia Potapova, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Elise Mertens this week.
Mertens proved to be a tough challenge in the quarters and even had three set points to wrap up the opening set. But Sakkari dug deep and saved them all to complete a 7-6(7), 6-2 win against the eighth seed.
She will now look to continue the winning momentum against Romanian veteran Irina-Camelia Begu.
The resurgent Begu's career trajectory has been on the rise in the past few months. The 31-year-old made a fantastic run to the final in Cleveland in August 2021 before finishing the year with a quarterfinal appearance in Tenerife.
She has brought that confidence into the new season, as evident from her quarterfinal showing in the Melbourne Summer Set 2.
Although the first Slam of the year proved to be a blip, the former World No. 22 has rebounded strongly in St. Petersburg. She has conceded a total of just 14 games in three matches heading into the last four, with former champion Petra Kvitova being one of her victims.
Begu will be coming into the semifinals with a lot of conviction and energy and will hope to topple the top seed.
Maria Sakkari vs Irina-Camelia Begu head-to-head
Sakkari and Begu are locked at 1-1 in the head-to-head. While Begu won their first-ever meeting 6-1, 6-3 in Miami in 2016, the Greek avenged it with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win in the 2018 Seoul quarterfinals.
Maria Sakkari vs Irina-Camelia Begu prediction
Sakkari's serve will be critical in this match. She served six aces against Mertens in their quarterfinal clash but could land only 57% of her first serves. Although the Greek amped up her returns, she was equally assisted by Mertens' 11 double faults.
Against Begu, Sakkari will face a different kind of challenge. The Romanian has a strong defense and an effective slice as well. She will look to extend the rallies in order to draw errors off the World No. 7's racquet.
However, if Sakkari serves brilliantly right from the start, Begu might not get many chances to make an impact. The pacy indoor conditions will aid the Greek's powerful, big-hitting game. If she is able to successfully control her aggression and keep her errors to a minimum as she has done all week, she should be through to the final.
Prediction: Maria Sakkari to win in three sets.
