Egypt's Mayar Sherif on Saturday scripted history when she became the first Egyptian to win a WTA tour as she won the finals of the Parma Ladies Open. The 26-year-old Sherif outclassed Greek star and top-seeded Maria Sakkari in the final by 7-5, 6-3 to lift her first WTA title. Meanwhile, Serbia's ace tennis player Novak Djokovic defeated Roman Safiullin in the semi-final of the Tel Aviv Open to book a final berth in the tournament. Djokovic will face Croatia's Marin Cilic in the final.
Sherif got the better of World No.7 Sakkari in 1 hour and 36 minutes. Sherif finished with 10 winners as compared to Sakkari's 22. However, the Egyptian was clinical in breaking the Greek star. She saved five break points out of the nine she faced and converted six break points and edged ahead of Sakkari. "It means a lot for my country. It means a lot for the people back home, my family, all the hard work, and all the mental struggles in the last weeks. I'm just thrilled and happy. This was never expected," Sherif said after the match.
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Also, Novak Djokovic has made it into his 127th ATP final after beating Russia's Roman Safiullin in the final four clash of Tel Aviv Open. The Serbian star overcame the challenge in straight sets win of 6-1, 7-6 (7-3). The first set was a cakewalk for World No.7 as he wrapped it up by a big margin. However, the Russian did not let it go and kept fighting in the second set to enforce a tie-break. Safiullin took a lead of 2-1 in the second set but Djokovic levelled things 3-3. However, the contest remained close and a 6-6 scoreline brought a tiebreaker in the second set. But the Serbian star emerged victorious in the second set tiebreak as he edged past the Russian 7-3. Djokovic will now face Croatia's Marin Cilic in the final on Sunday.
