Maria Sakkari vs Linda Fruhvirtova: Sakkari wins Singapore Open first round
Maria Sakkari overcame a shaky start to defeat Linda Fruhvirtova 6-4, 6-1 in the opening round of the Singapore Tennis Open on Tuesday, recovering from a 2-4 deficit before taking control of the match.
The seventh-seeded Greek arrived in Singapore looking for a positive start after an uneven run through the latter stages of the hard-court season. Against Fruhvirtova, she initially appeared vulnerable, dropping her serve in the opening game and falling behind in the first set.
Fruhvirtova was unable to maintain that advantage.
The Czech player led 4-2, but Sakkari gradually turned the momentum around. A combination of her court coverage, power from the baseline and increasing pressure on Fruhvirtova’s serve helped her level the set at 4-4.
From there, Sakkari took command. She won the next two games to close out the opening set 6-4.
The turnaround continued immediately in the second set. Sakkari won eight consecutive games from the middle of the first set and moved ahead 4-0 before Fruhvirtova finally stopped the run.
That brief response did little to change the direction of the match. Sakkari held her advantage and completed the 6-4, 6-1 victory, ending Fruhvirtova’s challenge in just two sets.
The result gives Sakkari a place in the second round of the Singapore Tennis Open, where she is scheduled to face Japan’s Nao Hibino.
For Sakkari, the victory provides an encouraging start to an event that has been upgraded to WTA 500 status for 2026. The tournament is being played from September 21 to 27 at the OCBC Arena on indoor hard courts and forms part of the WTA’s Asian swing.
Sakkari entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed and ranked No. 33 in the WTA singles rankings. She has previously reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 and owns two WTA singles titles.
Her 2026 season has included several competitive runs but also early exits. She reached the final of the Athens Open in July and the semifinals in Doha earlier in the season. At the US Open, however, she advanced through the opening round before losing to Yuliia Starodubtseva in the second round.
The Singapore draw offers Sakkari another opportunity to build momentum late in the season.
Fruhvirtova, 21, entered the tournament ranked outside the top 170 and had already spent much of the year moving between WTA and lower-level events. She arrived in Singapore after competing in ITF events in Europe earlier in September.
Sakkari had beaten Fruhvirtova in their only previous meeting, winning 6-4, 6-2 at the China Open in Beijing in 2023. Tuesday’s match extended that head-to-head advantage to 2-0.
The Singapore Open has a 28-player singles draw and is being contested on indoor hard courts. The event was reintroduced to the WTA calendar in 2025 as a WTA 250 tournament before being elevated to WTA 500 level this year.
The tournament features several prominent players, including top seed Mirra Andreeva, second seed Amanda Anisimova, third seed Alexandra Eala and fourth seed Elise Mertens.
Sakkari’s next challenge against Hibino will provide an early test of whether Tuesday’s comeback can translate into a longer run. For now, the Greek has moved through the opening round after recovering from a position that threatened to make her Singapore campaign a short one.
