Sakkari takes confidence into Serena rematch

Maria Sakkari is into her second straight Grand Slam fourth round, and while the world is quite different in New York versus when she was competing in Melbourne, her routine has remained flexible.

"If I play first match I'm going to have my three shots of espresso in the morning that I really need," she said after ousting Amanda Anisimova. "Basically I'm not a person that is very strict with routines.  I like routines in my everyday life, but I'm not going to be, like, OK, sour grapes, banana, or whatever. I'm more relaxed."

Her coach on the other hand has a tasty tradition. Tom Hill will have a coffee and cookie (or similar such treat) in their suite ahead of every match, no matter the hour.

"It's not like I have a specific routine like Tom," the Greek said. "Tom struggles a lot to eat the cookie at 10:00 a.m., I can tell you. It's too sweet for him."

Tom Hill Instagram 

The duo started working together two years ago, and their synergy paid off instantly. Just after they teamed up, Sakkari reached her first WTA final in San Jose, and she'd win her first title in Rabat in 2019. Her fourth-round run at the Australian Open may have been six months ago, but it's helped her this week.

"I think of course the fact that I broke that, let's say, wall in Australia—because I was stuck, I was stuck for many years through the third round—it helped me a lot this time," the world No. 22 said. "I was not stressed before the match. I was nervous because I was going to play a match, but it was not like, Oh, my God, oh, my God, it's a chance again to play fourth round.

"I really felt good with my game. I felt, why not reach the fourth round and even further?"

Serena Williams will have a say in that answer. On Monday, they'll have a rematch of their Western & Southern Open three-set saga when Sakkari stayed around long enough for Serena to implode.

"The fact that I played her last week is giving me confidence because now I know how she plays," the 25-year-old said. "But of course she's Serena, and I respect that 1,000 percent she's going to come up with a big game if she wins. She's going to come maybe with some different tactic this time. I have to be ready for that."

And you can count on Hill to be ready with his coffee and cookie.