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Sakkari turns bad bird situation into inspiration

ByJonathan Scott

Published May 17, 2019

You have to hand it to Greece's Maria Sakkari. She knows how to literally hold her nose at a particular situation and even turn it into motivation.

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“A bird s**t on my bag before the tournament in Rabat, so I was like, good things are going to happen.

"I haven't cleaned my bag since then.” 😂

After winning her first title in Rabat, @mariasakkari continues to build on clay.

Read: https://t.co/gPiTVwWXe8 pic.twitter.com/tCSMBtD4Bq
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) May 14, 2019

"So I haven't cleaned my bag since then," the world No. 39 added, as the WTA reported. "I think I'm not going to wash it."

This is precisely how one responds to having their equipment sullied by rogue avian. One can turn next to anything into a positive. It's about trying.

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Sakkari brims with confidence after winning her first-ever WTA tour-level title a few weeks ago in Rabat, taking out a resurgent Johanna Konta in the championship round. She's also the first Greek woman to win a WTA title in more than a decade.

The 23-year-old currently finds herself into the Rome quarterfinals after going through qualifying as the top seed. She posted wins over Anett Kontaveit and Petra Kvitova on Thursday, and faces Kristina Mladenovic on Friday.

Follow Jon on Twitter: @jonscott9.

Sakkari turns bad bird situation into inspiration

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