‘My level was poor’ – Tearful Maria Sakkari considers ‘break’ after shock first-round loss at US Open

The eighth seed was beaten 6-4 6-4 by world No. 71 Rebeka Masarova.

It was Sakkari’s third straight first-round defeat at Grand Slams this year and in her post-match press conference she was at a loss to explain her display.

The two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist broke down in tears as she spoke about her performance and “uncertain” immediate future.

“I wouldn’t say I was playing well,” she said. “If I played at least five or 10 per cent better, I would have won that match.

“These are the matches that I have to win. I cannot lose these matches, there have been too many for my level this year and it’s unfortunate.

“I just feel like my level was and has been poor and I have to do something about it.

“It’s not a lack of effort, for sure. I don’t know. It’s very uncertain, I don’t know what I am going to do, whether I am going to take a break or not.”

Sakkari made the semi-finals of the French Open and US Open in 2021, and last year reached No. 3 in the world rankings.

“Maybe I should take a break, I’m suffering on the court. I can’t make a decision now, it’s hard. I don’t have a clear mind.”

Eurosport expert Alex Corretja says it is “difficult to advise” what Sakkari should do without knowing everything that is going on.

“She is such a great worker, we all feel bad for her,” Corretja said. “At the end of the day no-one knows what is going on.

“We can talk about someone from what we see, but things can happen, maybe you are not as happy as we think, or maybe you are not winning for other reasons. They are human beings, flying from here to there, it’s a tough loss for her.

“It’s difficult to advise because you don’t know if she needs a break or not. It all depends on how she feels and what she desires. Maybe she feels like, ‘OK I lost here but I want to do a nice Asia tournament’ and see if she does well or not.

“We can say about taking a rest but it’s still August, so four months left of the season. If you go back home and don’t play for a month then it can be difficult to come back strong. I think she needs to take a bit of a rest after this tournament, sit down with the team and then decide what she wants to do.”