Maria Sakkari defeated Coco Gauff 6-4, 6(5)-7(7), 6-2 in the semi-final of the ongoing 2024 Indian Wells on Saturday to set up the final with Iga Swiatek which will be played on March 18.
The rain-interrupted encounter saw the Greek making a remarkable comeback after losing the second set.
Gauff didn’t have her day as the US Open champion looked far from her best, losing the first without giving noteworthy fight against Sakkari.
The players were forced to walk off the court due to rain in the second set. After some delay, the play resumed and Gauff fought back to clinch the second set.
However, Sakkari regrouped and pushed her counterpart back to claim the third set and eventually her way to the final.
"I don't want to disrespect Coco, but it would have been amazing if this match was over an hour ago," Sakkari said after the epic battle that lasted two hours and 41 minutes.
"I'm going to take this win even though it was in three sets. I was thinking of the finish line in the second set and then things got tricky. But that was an amazing win.
"Coco is such an amazing opponent. She's incredible. She fights for every point. I'm just so happy I'm in the final once again here."
She will now take on Iga Swiatek, against whom she led 3-2 in head-to-head, but has been winless in the last two matches. Sakkari will now aim to end her losing streak against the Pole to win the title.
"Yeah, it's actually pretty crazy that the last time we played was two years ago. I would say we are very different two years ago both of us. That's when her streak started or a few weeks before that. You know, having that lead doesn't really mean anything, because she's the best player right now in the world, Sakkari said.
"I'm just going to, you know, try and keep that lead and stay, you know, two wins ahead of her, but it's just going to be very, very tricky.”