Zeynep Sönmez begins her title defense and eliminates Maria Sakkari from the Mérida Open 2025

Maria Sakkari's veteran status was no match for the aggressiveness of the defending champion from Merida, Zeynep Sönmez . This Tuesday, from the central stadium of the Yucatan Country Club, the Turkish player was forceful in her serves and defense to eliminate the Greek, who is one of the favorites of the Mexican fans, in the first round in two sets with partial scores of 7-5 and 6-2 .

In a match that lasted one hour and forty-two minutes, Sönmez showed herself to be a serious candidate to defend her title in the Yucatan city . The 22-year-old imposed herself with great class against the one who was presented as the favorite to win this duel.

During the first set, Sakkari took the first points, but Sönmez never allowed the lead to be too big and, little by little, she was on the heels of the Greek who at various times in the match was visibly frustrated; María was the first to win five games, but Zeynep managed to tie the score and, in the end, take the chapter .

In the next round, the Turkish player was more dominant and managed to defeat the Greek. She won 73% of points each time she made the first serve , showing overwhelming effectiveness that prevented Sakkari from having a triumphant return.

It should be noted that, in the edition of the Mérida Open AKRON 2024 that took place between the months of October and November, Zeynep Sönmez won her first WTA title in the 250 category , so this year she seeks to retain her championship in the white city and achieve her first title in the 500 category.

SV