Sakkari overtakes Collins in semifinals of San Jose tourney
SAN JOSE >> Determined Maria Sakkari of Greece earned a date in the championship match with a come-from-behind win over American Danielle Collins Saturday night in the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic.
Sakkari was down a set and 4-1 against Collins before roaring to a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 triumph. She will face No. 5 seed Mihaela Buzarnescu in today’s women’s final.
The upstart Buzarnescu also rallied past No. 4 seed Elise Mertens in three sets in the semifinals, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
In a rematch of the pair’s Hobart International final in January, Buzarnescu had to come back from
a set down to claim her third three-set victory of the tournament to see off an ailing Mertens.
Sakkari also upended Venus Williams in the quarterfinals.
Coming into her semifinal match, Mertens had only been broken twice so far — but she was tested right away by Buzarnescu. The Romanian recovered emphatically from going down an early break at 2-0 and struck back a few games later to level the match.
• Serena Williams, who was upset by Johanna Konta 6-1, 6-0 in the first round, has pulled out of next week’s Rogers Cup hard-court tournament, citing personal reasons.
The tournament announced Williams’ withdrawal on Saturday.
A 23-time Grand Slam champion, Williams was the runner-up at Wimbledon last month.