WTA FINALS

October 28, 2023

Maria Sakkari

Press Conference

MARIA SAKKARI: (Recording already in progress).

...different to the last two years. As you said, I'm very connected to the Mexican people and to the crowd, to the culture. It feels great to be back.

Of course, coming from Greece, coming from a country that is next to the water, it's also great to wake up every morning, see the water, get to spend some time next to beach.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. All week people talk about the stadium. What do you think about the organization, the court and the stadium?

MARIA SAKKARI: I have no opinion for the stadium because I haven't been there yet, so... Allow me to skip that part.

I'm sure that the result will be great. Going to practice there in the afternoon. I personally really like everything about the tournament and the place. I just feel very comfortable.

Obviously there were some tricky parts in the beginning, but that's kind of normal. But, yeah, I'm very, very, very happy to be here. Very grateful to be given the opportunity, even though it was not the way I wanted to.

At the same time, I just feel like I just want to enjoy and be happy and just appreciate the fact that I'm competing for the third time in the Finals.

Q. This year you won your first 1000. Do you think this is your best season?

MARIA SAKKARI: No. I mean, for sure not.

Q. Why?

MARIA SAKKARI: Of course, it was a great moment when I won the tournament, but I just feel like there were many tough moments. I lost three first rounds in three out of four Grand Slams. So definitely not my best season.

Q. You mentioned about being grateful to be here. How much do you feel like you are playing with kind of house money here this week? Related to that, you talked a lot in the last couple of months about playing with joy, playing with a smile on court. How much has that helped you, not just in Guadalajara but through the finish of the season?

MARIA SAKKARI: I mean, that was the key. That was the reason why I think I positioned myself in the best possible spot to be the number one alternate, then eventually get the last spot.

I just feel like, yes, the crowd loves me here, and I love them, too. I've said it many times: there's a special connection. This week is like a celebration for me. I'm grateful to be here, to be competing again in the Finals because three times in a row is I think a great achievement.

I'm just going to go out there and enjoy. It will be amazing to win the whole thing, that's my ultimate goal, of course, but I don't want to think of win or lose. I just want to feel like, you know what, I was given that great opportunity, and I just make the most out of it.

Q. A few days ago the strongest hurricane that ever happened in Mexico was in Acapulco. What message can you send to the Mexican people?

MARIA SAKKARI: Yeah, it was very tough to see. Very sad what happened. I just feel like no words can describe how these people feel over there. I saw the pictures of the hotel and of the stadium. It's extremely sad. I feel like many, many terrible things are happening in the world at the same time.

I just feel like, yeah, I really hope that the tournament somehow can recover. I think the tournament is the least that people should care about. I think that people lost their houses. It's very tough to see that. You cannot feel for these people because it's a terrible position to be.

I wish that we can do something that could recover their homes and, yeah, the whole area over there.

Q. Your first game in this tournament is tomorrow, Sabalenka. What do you feel for this?

MARIA SAKKARI: Obviously opening up with the world No. 1, it's going to be very challenging, very tough. At the same time we've played each other many times. I believe that she has a better record than I do have against her.

Coming in here, you cannot expect that you'll have an easy match. You're playing against the top players of the world. I just feel like everyone has their own difficulty. I'm just going to go play my game, follow my own tactic, see what I can do against her.

Q. I know you've been obviously practicing at the practice courts at the hotel. Iga was saying that the wind is going to be a bit of a leveler in terms of putting everybody on a level playing field. What are your thoughts on that? Is it a leveler or does it favor certain players?

MARIA SAKKARI: I think that the players that accept that the wind is going to make us look and play ugly, because that's the reality. You cannot play good tennis when it's that windy out there. Whoever accepts it the most is going to have a better result and a better time on the court. Unfortunately weather is something that we cannot control yet. It's going to be tough, for sure.

Personally, I have to accept that I might not serve the same way or hit the same way my strokes. I just believe that acceptance is going to be a huge thing that I'm going to have with me the entire week (smiling).

Q. Have you ever dressed up for Halloween?

MARIA SAKKARI: No.

Q. If you were going to dress up for Halloween this week, what would you dress up as?

MARIA SAKKARI: Cat Woman or Wonder Woman.

Q. What would you be doing this week if you were not here? Up until a month ago, it seemed like you might not be. Had you made vacation plans? What was your Plan B if not Cancun?

MARIA SAKKARI: I had no plans, I'll be deadly honest. Once I won Guadalajara, I knew it was very tough to qualify, but I had a good chance of being one of the first alternates. I was anyway going to come here, being the one alternate. I was going to spend the week here in Cancun obviously practicing, preparing, potentially be ready to play.

But no holiday plans for me. Just going to go spend some time with my boyfriend, not travel for a little bit, which is much needed (smiling).