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Happy Birthday, Maria Sakkari!

The two-time major semifinalist turns 27 Monday in a year that has seen her become the first player from Greece to crack the Top 3 of the WTA rankings. It’s been a steady climb to this point, with Sakkari improving her year-end ranking each season.

While her 2022 hasn’t quite yielded the results she expected at the first three majors, success has come elsewhere. At the first two 1000-level events, the Athens native advanced to the semifinals of Doha before contesting the biggest final of her career at Indian Wells.

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After being edged out by Karolina Muchova in the second round of Roland Garros, Sakkari said afterwards, "I just feel like I'm playing good tennis again. I'm fighting, which I have to say that I had lost that feeling for awhile after Indian Wells. So that's the positive thing that I'll keep from that."

When she returns to U.S. soil next week, Sakkari starts in San Jose. At the WTA 500 event, she’ll look to begin building momentum in the lead-up to the US Open, where Sakkari took out Petra Kvitova, Bianca Andreescu and Karolina Pliskova on her way to the last four in 2021.

Sakkari’s place among the sport’s elite is a testament to her discipline, hard work and commitment to pushing the boundaries. If we had to guess, her birthday included a workout. Here’s to staying true to yourself, Maria.