Miami, April 1 (IANS): Maria Sakkari of Greece brought world number two Naomi Osaka's 23-match winning streak to an end in stunning fashion in the Miami Open quarterfinals, claiming victory 6-0, 6-4 in just 69 minutes.
The Japanese star had not lost a match in over a year, winning last year's US Open and this season's Australian Open. But in the quarterfinal clash against Sakkari, Osaka just could not find a way out, Xinhua news reports.
Meanwhile, Sakkari delivered an impeccable performance, striking 22 winners and coming from 0-3 down in the second set. By contrast, Osaka committed 23 unforced errors and struck only five winners.
"I don't think it was the best tennis I have ever played in my life," said Sakkari. "I think I executed our strategy really well. I just did what I had to do. I'm not going to tell you what. What we discussed before the match, I just did it most of the match, except maybe a couple of games where things didn't go right."
Sakkari will next play eighth seed Bianca Andreescu of Canada, who dropped serve eight times but still outlasted unseeded Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
