The Greek player came into the BNP Paribas Open as the 7th seed in the women’s draw. She beat 27th-seeded Kalinina from Ukraine 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Sakkari also comes from a second-round win against Shelby Rogers. She later acknowledge the challenge presented by both players.
“Obviously [Kalinina and Rogers] are two players that I struggled in the past, and they are very good players, both,” Sakkari said after her match.
“I’m making too many unforced errors from the baseline, but all that matters is that I’m finding a way to win and just fighting. As I said, that’s the only thing, finding a way to win. Winning ugly, but at the end, winning.”
She will next go up against Pliskova who won against Veronika Kudermetova 6-1, 7-5 on Sunday.
Pliskova leads the head-to-head between the two with 3-2. They last met last month in Dubai with Pliskova winning in straight sets 6-1 6-2.
“Pliskova, she’s serving big, and she likes to hit the ball hard, I have to for sure reduce my unforced errors,” Sakkari said.
“That won’t be accepted against her. Just be as solid as I can, because that’s something that’s going to give me a chance to win. Otherwise, she’s gonna dominate and she’s gonna take advantage of it. “
Their fourth-round match is set for May 15, Wednesday.