Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin crashed out of the WTA event in Abu Dhabi, losing in three sets to number nine seed Maria Sakkari in the quarter-finals on Monday.
After top seed Kenin took the opening set 6-2, the Greek bounced back by galloping through the next two 6-2, 6-0 winning the last 10 games in a row to complete her fifth Top 5 win and book a semi-final meeting with the Belorussian Aryna Sabalenka.
“Beating these players this week it means a lot,” said Sakkari after her win. “I’m playing players that I’ve never played, like (Garbine Muguruza) yesterday, so I have a better idea if I play them again. So in general it gives me a lot of confidence starting the year like that and I’m super happy to travel to Australia with some good matches with me.”
The Australian Open begins in Melbourne on February 8.
Kenin survived a match point in the previous round before getting the better of Yulia Putintseva but the American found the new, improved Sakkari a…