Maria Sakkari joked she felt "like a lucky, lucky loser" after a fortunate turn of events at the Adelaide International put her in a position to still have a decent preparation for the Australian Open.
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After going 0-2 at the United Cup in singles, the Greek - who plummeted to No. 32 in the world - asked for a late wildcard into the qualifying event of the WTA 500 tournament in Adelaide - where she ended up losing in the final round to Peyton Stearns.
But despite failing to make it past the qualifying, Sakkari managed to sneak into the main draw as a lucky loser following a player withdrawal.
And on Tuesday, the former world No. 3 defeated Linda Noskova 6-3 6-3 to progress into the round-of-16 at the tournament.
Now, the 29-year-old could possibly make a run in Adelaide and quickly go from entering the Australian Open in poor form to arriving in Melbourne in great spirits.
Sakkari: Every match I feel a lot better, I feel like a lucky, lucky loser
We took the decision to play qualifying. We felt it was the right thing to do, coming back from the injury. I havent played a lot of matches. I felt it was the best thing to do before the Australian Open. Every match I play I feel a lot better. I feel like a lucky, lucky loser," the Greek said.
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In her next match, Sakkari will be facing a tough task as she plays next against No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula.
While the world No. 7 enters the match as the favorite, the American hasn't played any matches so far this year after missing last week's Brisbane due to a knee injury.
Considering that Pegula lacks matches and Sakkari has already played five matches in 2025, there could be the Greek's chance to upset the 2024 US Open runner-up.
