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Sakkari cruised through the first set and led 3-0 in the second
before the hard-hitting Belarusian roared back, winning four
straight games to take a 4-3 lead.
But the determined Greek reeled off the final three games and
raised her arms in triumph when Sabalenka's running forehand
landed wide on the purple indoor hard courts in Texas.
"I felt like I did nothing wrong from 3-0 down," Sakkari, who
reached the semi-finals of the tournament for a second
consecutive year, told Tennis Channel.
"She started making more balls, she wasn't missing like she was
in the first set and half. So I just told myself, keep doing
what you're doing and you'll get your chances."
Sakkari also benefited from some net cords that went her way in
the rollercoaster second set.
"Sometimes it's nice to have a little bit of luck, and I'm
usually not that lucky on the court," she said with a smile.
Earlier in the day, world number two Jabeur battled back to beat
American Pegula 1-6 6-3 6-3 for her first win in round robin
play.
Pegula came out firing against the Tunisian, catching up to a
drop shot in plenty of time to deliver a backhand winner to snag
the 25-minute first set.
But Jabeur came alive in the second, breaking Pegula when her
forehand hit the net cord and landed out of bounds for a 4-3
lead en route to leveling the contest at a set apiece.
Frustration appeared to mount for Pegula in the decider and she
did not even attempt to run down a Jabeur drop shot on break
point that gave the Tunisian a 5-3 lead. Jabeur went on to seal
the win on an errant backhand from Pegula on match point.
"In the first set, she was playing really well and really fast,"
Jabeur said.
"The balls were really tough, very low, and I know she likes to
play like that. I just had to change up the rhythm and impose my
game."
Jabeur, who fell to Sabalenka in a tight three-setter in their
opening match on Monday, said the round robin format meant she
had no time to sulk over the loss.
"I'm used to being depressed for the next two days when I lose
but I didn't have much time here," Jabeur said after collecting
her 47th win of the season.
The WTA Finals features eight women split into two sections,
with the top two finishers in each group moving onto the semis.
Sakkari is the first player from her group through to the last
four. Jabeur, Sabalenka and Pegula are vying for the second
spot.
The group featuring Iga Swiatek, Caroline Garcia, Coco Gauff1
and Daria Kasatkina returns to action on Thursday.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los AngelesEditing by Shri
Navaratnam/Peter Rutherford)
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