Sixth seed Maria Sakkari was far too good for China’s Yue Yuan on Monday, winning her first round tie at Melbourne Park 6-1, 6-4.
After a relatively easy first set, the Greek star had to come fro 3-1 down in the second set, winning in 94 minutes.
“I feel like I say the same thing every year I come back here. It’s my home tournament because of the large Greek community,” Sakkari said.
“People here, [in] Australia, no matter what nationality, they are very friendly, very nice to everyone. I could live in this city. There is nothing I dislike about this country,” an excited Sakkari said, adding that ” the Greeks always help”.
“They’re always there to support us. It’s like home.”
Sakkari will face Russian qualifier Diana Shnaider in round two.
