<p>Second-seeded On Friday, Maria Sakkari defeated third-seeded Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-0 to earn a repeat trip to the Guadalajara WTA 1000 event, where she will take on Caroline Dolehide, a first-time WTA finalist.</p>
<p>The ninth-ranked player in the world, Sakkari of Greece, is competing in the Guadalajara final for the second time in a row.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-197187″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/theindiaprint.com-on-saturday-amit-shah-will-visit-mumbai-and-give-a-lecture-at-mu-download-2023-09-.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com on saturday amit shah will visit mumbai and give a lecture at mu download 2023 09″ width=”1274″ height=”954″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/theindiaprint.com-on-saturday-amit-shah-will-visit-mumbai-and-give-a-lecture-at-mu-download-2023-09-.jpg 259w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/theindiaprint.com-on-saturday-amit-shah-will-visit-mumbai-and-give-a-lecture-at-mu-download-2023-09–150×112.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1274px) 100vw, 1274px” title=”Maria Sakkari and Caroline Dolehide set up a summit competition in Mexico at the Guadalajara Open 9″></p>
<p>She endured some grueling three-setter matches last year, but this year she hasn’t lost a set on the road to the final, where she’ll be vying for her first championship since Rabat in 2019.</p>
<p>In a season that has had ups and down, including a first-round elimination at the US Open last month, a triumph would be a late high point.</p>
<p>Sakkari, who lost to Jessica Pegula in the championship match of the previous year, said, “I mentioned it the first day that I felt like this was the week. “This is the spot where I was going to go beyond many challenging challenges and challenging emotions.</p>
<p>I’m just really delighted to be back in the final; I couldn’t have hoped for anything more. I don’t want to go back to the US Open because it has past.</p>
<p>With just three unforced mistakes in the first set, Sakkari assumed control and broke for a 3-1 lead.</p>
<p>She saved three break opportunities to extend her lead to 4-0 before breaking Garcia to start the second set in a game the French player had led 40-15.</p>
<p>When Sakkari eventually defeated France’s Garcia in Doha this year, she had previously lost three of four encounters with her.</p>
<p>The last game we played was one of the hardest games I’ve ever played, according to Sakkari. “Today, I just wanted to enjoy myself, smile, and come out here and have fun. Because I haven’t had such feelings in a long.</p>
<p>She said, “I’m going to have the same goal tomorrow.”</p>
<p>Dolehide defeated resurgent 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 7-5, 6-3 to advance to her maiden WTA championship match.</p>
<p>Dolehide, who is the third unseeded finalist at a WTA 1000 tournament this year after Barbora Krejcikova in Dubai and Karolina Muchova in Cincinnati, overcame breakdowns in each set to win the all-American semifinal.</p>
<p>The 25-year-old, who is rated 111th in the world, made history by becoming just the second 1000-level finalist since the format’s 2009 introduction to be outside the top 100.</p>
<p>At 4-2 in the opening set, Dolehide was down a break until she went on a three-game winning streak to go up 5-4 and win the set.</p>
<p>Dolehide turned around a 3-1 deficit in the second game by winning five consecutive matches. She did it by fending off five break chances in the last game and winning on her first match point.</p>
<p>Dolehide previously defeated Italian Martina Trevisan in the quarterfinals, saving four match points in the process.</p>
