Maria Sakkari credits social media star with inspiring Indian Wells triumph
No 9 seed Maria Sakkari has credited an unusual figure with inspiring her Indian Wells semi-final win over Coco Gauff.
Sakkari revealed that she had been watching the YouTube videos of ‘Uncle Roger’ during a rain break in the match and joked that he held the key to the victory.
Rain delays do present major issues for players with some trying to stay dialled in to their match state during the break.
However, it might be better for players not to overthink the match situation during a rain delay.
So perhaps Sakkari has spoken true words in jest and the light-hearted fun of Uncle Roger may just have given her some sort of boost if not just a laugh and a momentary distraction.
Sakkari was able to use the break to her advantage and got a bit of self-care in before getting the business done on court.
“Yeah, no one likes rain delays. It really is not ideal, but I just had some food, took a quick shower, just, you know, stayed with my team. We were watching YouTube videos of Uncle Roger (smiling)”, Maria Sakkari said after the win.
“Yeah. Then, you know, just went to warm up again, and yeah. Uncle Roger is the key of today’s match”, she added.
Uncle Roger is a chef and comedian, whose videos focus on the YouTuber reacting to attempts to make authentic Asian cuisine.
Sakkari had lost at the semi-final stage at Indian Wells in 2023 and reached the final in 2022 but has now set up a showdown with Iga Swiatek for what would be her first BNP Paribas Open title.
It has been two years since the last meeting between the players which came when Swiatek defeated Sakkari for the Indian Wells title in 2022.
Sakkari doesn’t believe that her 3-2 head-to-head lead of Swiatek will be a factor in their upcoming encounter.
“Yeah, it’s actually pretty crazy that last time we played was two years ago. I would say we are very different two years ago both of us. That’s when her streak started or a few weeks before that. You know, having that lead doesn’t really mean anything, because she’s the best player right now in the world.
“I’m just going to, you know, try and keep that lead and stay, you know, two wins ahead of her, but it’s just going to be very, very tricky,” Sakkari added in contemplation of the championship match at the WTA 1000 event.
