Maria Sakkari of Greece in action against Clara Burel of France in their first round match of the 2022 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, France, May 22, 2022. /CFP
Maria Sakkari had to keep her cool on Sunday as the French Open security team had to sit next to a disruptive man in the crowd after he refused to move.
Leading the second set 5-3, the fourth seed was serving for the match when a member of the crowd started making some unnecessary noises.
The match was delayed and security had to take some drastic steps to stop the person from interrupting again.
Finally, Sakkari moved into the second round at the French Open for the fifth consecutive year after a straight-sets 6-2, 6-3 win over Clara Burel.
Maria Sakkari of Greece celebrates her win over against Clara Burel of France in their first round match of the 2022 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, France, May 22, 2022. /CFP
Sakkari broke Frenchwoman Burel five times and sealed the victory after 1 hour and 28 minutes on court. Afterward, the fourth-seeded Greek reflected on her loss last year in the semifinals.
"It was a very nice experience last year, but it's already a year ago, so I don't really think about what happened in 2021," Sakkari admitted. "I started, I have said many times, believing more in myself after what happened here, this is my favorite tournament, it is my favorite court."
The win is the fourth seed's 20th match-victory of the season so far. Next for Sakkari will be former Grand Slam quarter-finalist Karolina Muchova.
(With input from AP)