Tennis: Belinda Bencic through to Abu Dhabi final; Petra Martic upsets Maria Sakkari in Linz semis

The top-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece was defeated by Petra Martic of Croatia in the Upper Austria Ladies Linz semifinals on Saturday, giving the Croatian player her eighth Top 10 triumph of her career.

34th in the world Including just last month at the United Cup, Martic has lost both of her prior encounters with Sakkari.

In Linz, the Croat upset Sakkari, the world’s seventh-ranked player, after a 2-hour, 32-minute comeback.

Belinda Bencic reached her second final of the year on Saturday with a straight-sets win over Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil in the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi.

The Swiss second seed eased to a 6-2, 6-3 victory and registered her 11th win of 2023, tying Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka for most tour wins so far.

“The work we’re putting in on the practice court is showing already. I didn’t expect it to go so fast, but that doesn’t mean we have to slow down,” said Bencic after her 90-minute win.