Brazil has a female tennis player in the semi-finals of Roland Garros . for the first time
FRANCE Beatriz Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian woman to reach the semifinals of a clay Grand Slam in the Open Era, beating Ons Jabeur 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1.
For the third match in a row at the tournament, Haddad Maia won back after losing the first set. Against rival Ons Jabeur who are in high form, the 14th seed lost 3-6 in the first set and faced two break-points when the score was 5-5 in the second set. But after saving two risks of losing the serve game, Haddad Maia consecutively scored the winner to win 7-5 in the tie-break. The Brazilian took advantage of a series of self-defeating errors by Jabeur, to win the third set 6-1 and close the match after two and a half hours.
Haddad Maia (right) shakes hands with Ons Jabeur after the quarter-final match on June 7. Photo: AP
The name Haddad Maia is associated with a series of persistent matches in recent weeks. In the fourth round of Roland Garros, she and Sarra Sorribes Tormo created the longest women's singles match since the beginning of the year, with a score of 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-5 after 3 hours and 51 minutes. It was also the third longest women's singles match in Roland Garros history and the 10th longest in the Open Era. This match broke the 2023 record for the encounter in Rome three weeks earlier, also featuring Haddad Maia as she lost 7-6, 6-7, 3-6 to Anhelina Kalinina in 3 hours and 41 minutes.
On the way to the semi-finals, Haddad Maia saved the match-point in the third round against Ekaterina Alexandrova. She was the first Brazilian to reach the semifinals of Roland Garros in the Open Era (since 1968). Before that, Maria Bueno had reached the final of a clay Grand Slam in 1964.
In the previous 11 Grand Slam appearances, Haddad Maia has never gone beyond the second round. The victory on Ons Jabeur is the first time the Brazilian player has defeated a top 10 opponent in the world at a Grand Slam. In the semi-finals, Haddad Maia faced the ultimate challenge named Iga Swiatek - who easily won Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 in the replay of the Roland Garros final last year.
The other women's singles semi-final is a match between world number two Aryna Sabalenka and Czech tennis player Karolina Muchova. The two semi-finals of the women's singles will take place from 8pm on Thursday, June 9, Hanoi time.
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