Linz Open: Sakkari vs Martic Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Linz Open as Maria Sakkari takes on Petra Martic in the semifinal on Saturday, February 11, 2023.

Will Maria Sakkari go all the way at the Linz Open? Another Croat stands in her way as Petra Martic chases her first win over the Greek in three meetings. Who will prevail and reach Sunday’s final?

Maria Sakkari needed to return to winning ways after her surprise Australian Open exit at the hands of Zhu Lin in the third round. And she has done just that at the Linz Open where she scored her best win of the season in the quarterfinal, beating resurgent Donna Vekic in straight sets. But there was nothing straight forward about it as Sakkari dug deep and saved multiple set points to come away with a 6-3 7-6 win in one of the most entertaining matches on Friday. It will be another Croat that awaits Sakkari in the semis, but she has not lost to Petra Martic before this.

Petra Martic, for her part, has put together a breathtaking run at the Linz Open. After coming through her opener against Bassols Ribera, she looked down and out in her second-round match against Alison Van Uytvanck. But incredibly, Martic rallied from 4-1 down in the decider to upend the Belgian. The World No. 34 then put the brakes on Clara Tauson’s run, beating her in straight sets in the quarterfinal.

Maria Sakkari leads Petra Martic 2-0 in their head-to-head. Their most recent meeting came at this year’s United Cup where Sakkari won in straight sets. The Greek has looked polished in her run to the semifinal at the Linz Open and this is a great chance for her to add another title to her trophy cabinet, which surprisingly only holds one. Sakkari looked very tough to break down in her last-eight match. If there was one player who could overpower Sakkari this week, it had to be Vekic in the kind of form she was in. But the longer the rallies went on, the Croat ran out of patience. If Sakkari can keep points at neutral whenever she is playing on the back foot in rallies, she has solid chance of advancing into her first final of 2023.