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Maria Sakkari ready to go to the wire against Iga Swiatek in Indian Wells final

Maria Sakkari in action at Indian Wells

Maria Sakkari said she will prepare for an "an unbelievable fight” when she faces Iga Swiatek in the BNP Paribas final at Indian Wells on Sunday.

The 26-year-old beat defending champion Paula Badosa 6-2 4-6 6-1 to set up the biggest final of her career and will now look for revenge in California, having lost the most recent meeting against Swiatek at February's Qatar Open.
The Greek right-hander has only ever won one title on the WTA Tour - the Morocco Open in 2019 - but last year reached the semi-finals at the French Open and the US Open. She leads Swiatek 3-1 in the head-to-heads.
"Having a team like the one I have that constantly repeat that they believe in you, trust you and they're just very proud no matter what, it makes things a lot easier," said a tearful Sakkari.
Poland's former French Open winner Swiatek overcame Simona Halep 7-6 (7-6) 6-4 to reach the final.
She reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open at the start of the year and in February won the Qatar Total Open in Doha.
The winner of Sunday's showpiece in California will rise to number two in the world rankings and Sakkari, who had previously only won two of her 14 semi-finals, said she expected the final to go to the wire.
"I know Iga really well and she's an unbelievable player," she told reporters.
"I respect her a lot and I admire her game. It's just going to be an unbelievable fight for both of us."
Swiatek fought back from a break down in both sets against Halep - and trailed 4-2 in the second before staging a fightback - and acknowledged the pressure is on her to beat Sakkari.
"I feel like I'm not the underdog any more and I want to show something else and show what I learned," she said.
"I always feel like I have nothing to lose, but this time it was a little bit different."
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