Seventh seed Maria Sakkari advanced to the Singapore Tennis Open quarterfinals after defeating Czech opponent Linda Fruhvirtova 6-4, 6-1 in the first round on Tuesday.
The world No. 33 Greek player recovered from an early 2-4 deficit and won 10 of the final 11 games in a match that lasted one hour and 25 minutes.
It was Sakkari's second career victory over Fruhvirtova and her debut appearance in Singapore.
Match statistics showed Sakkari recorded three aces, converted 76 percent of her first-serve points, and landed 61 percent of her first serves.
Fruhvirtova, the world No. 177 playing in her fourth career WTA 500 main draw, remains in search of her first appearance in the last 16 at that level.
Sakkari Thanks Fans and Reflects on Performance
Sakkari thanked the fans who attended the late-running session, as reported by Tennis Majors.
"I really want to explore, really want to play as many matches as I can in front of you guys," Sakkari said.
"You're a very loud crowd, and thank you for staying with me."
"I know kids are still in school here, so I'm so thankful that you brought your kids today.
It's a special place to play. It's an amazing country, so I'm very, very pleased and very honored to play here."
She reflected on translating her practice form into competitive play following her opening match win.
"You might be playing well in practice, but, you know, matches are different situations," Sakkari said.
"So, I'm very happy with how I played and how I executed my game. So, no complaints from today."
Following her victory over Fruhvirtova, Sakkari advanced to face Japanese qualifier Nao Hibino in the second round before lining up a quarterfinal match against Australia's Talia Gibson on Friday.
"Every match is tough.
You have to be careful and play your best game to beat those players," Sakkari said regarding her upcoming opponents.
"Because regardless of their ranking, everyone will play well nowadays. It's going to be a tough match, and I'm ready for another battle."
