Bouzas Maneiro rolls past Sakkari to give Spain early lead at United Cup

No.54 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro defeated former No.3 Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-1 to give Spain a 1-0 lead over Greece in Perth on Saturday in Group C.

Bouzas Maneiro, 22, bounced back from a straight-sets loss to World No.6 Elena Rybakina in her opener to ease past Sakkari in a 72-minute clinic.

“I’m super super happy with my performance today,” Bouzas Maneiro said on court. “Yesterday was tough for me, the first match, but I felt really well today.”

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In their first career meeting, Bouzas Maneiro dominated the baseline exchanges to earn the third tour-level Top 50 win of her career. She notched her first two last season, first by ousting defending champion Marketa Vondrousova in the first round of Wimbledon, and then notching another Grand Slam stunner over Katie Boulter at the US Open. 

Sakkari entered the new season at No.32 on the PIF WTA Rankings after shutting down her 2024 campaign after the US Open due to a shoulder injury. Playing her first match since her first-round retirement in New York to Wang Yafan, Sakkari struggled to find the consistency needed to bother Bouzas Maneiro.

Maneiro broke Sakkari’s serve in all but one service game, converting seven of 13 break points. Sakkari served at just 45 percent in the match and misfired on 29 unforced errors. Fittingly, Bouzas Maneiro broke Sakkari’s serve to seal the match, firing a confident forehand winner to earn triple match point and converting on a backhand winner that clipped the line. 

Stefanos Tsitsipas will try to keep Greece’s hopes alive when he takes on Pablo Carreno Busta in the second singles match.

More to follow…