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US Open kicks off subsequent week and no matter outcomes, Greeks can already really feel proud for a big milestone.
This 12 months’s match would be the first time in historical past that three Greek gamers be a part of a Grand Slam most important draw.
It doesn’t come as a shock to see Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari competing, however the match additionally incorporates a Greek Grand Slam debutante.
Valentini Grammatikopoulou stood out within the qualifiers, profitable every of her matches in three units over Lucia Bronzetti, Anna Kalinskaya and Liang En-Shuo.
Born within the small Macedonian city of Axioupoli, the daughter of a road market employee, she received her first two ITF titles as a 16-year-old in 2013.
She reached her profession excessive of No.158 in November 2018 however has since suffered from incosistency falling to No.287 this Could.
The 24-year-old has made it up to now towards all odds amidst monetary problem.
“Once I was [ranked] 400, 4 years in the past, I used to be profitable €1,000 after which travelling with this cash to go to a different match, even not considering of going again residence. That was the circle, that’s the way you construct and get out of those small tournaments,” Valentini Grammatikopoulou informed the Guardian in a 2020 interview.
Grammatikopoulou may have a first-round conflict with Anna Blinkova on Tuesday, just a few hours after Tsitsipas’ US Open blockbuster dealing with former champion Andy Murray.
Sakkari will deal with MartaKostyuk on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Tsitsipas’ journey from the courts of Glyfada to the Grand Slam stage
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