Beatriz Haddad Maia, the girl who left injuries and treacherous doping behind and now drives Roland Garros crazy with her tennis

the brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, 14th in the WTA, walks her way. The good results of recent times were not in vain. This Wednesday she gave the blow and qualified for the semifinals of Roland Garros, after winning a complicated duel against the Tunisian Ons Jabeur (7th) by 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) and 6-1, this Wednesday in Paris. But he not only added a victory, but also a record.

The 27-year-old tennis player became the first player from her country to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam since Maria Esther Bueno at the 1968 US Open. Precisely, Bueno had also been the last to reach that instance in Paris two years before.

In his best performance in the French tournament and in a Grand Slam, since so far he had not passed more than two rounds in his eleven previous participationsHaddad also made history by becoming the first Brazilian man or woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal. since Gustavo Kuerten at Roland Garros in 2001.

The unprecedented records do not end there: in addition, the Brazilian is the first player of the Open Era to be among the top four at Roland Garros after having won the round of 32, round of 16 and quarterfinals after losing the first set.

In the next round, Haddad will face the winner of the duel between the world number 1 and defending champion, Iga Swiatek, and the American Coco Gauff (6th).

A battle to reach the semifinals

Jabeur, 28, began dominating the first set until the Brazilian found some rhythm, managing to break her rival’s serve (1-2). Haddad’s joy did not last long, as she saw how the Tunisian increased her advantage until she took the set at her first set point (3-6).

The second set had nothing to do with it, in which, with effort and some suffering, the Brazilian maintained a sufficient level to complicate the duel for Jabeur. In a tug of war full of unforced errors, the two players were defending their respective serves, with the difference that, while Haddad suffered, the Tunisian took four games without giving up a single point to her rival.

“We work very hard all year to be in these momentsso I remembered this when we were in the middle of the second set”, declared Haddad Maia on court Philippe-Chatrier, at the end of the match.

The set was decided in the tie break, in which the Brazilian prevailed 7-5. It was the boost Haddad Maia needed, who was virtually relentless in the third set, taking the lead to 3-0. Finally, the Brazilian gave up just one game, comfortably concluding the game in two hours and 29 minutes.

A prize for resilience

The qualification to the semifinal of Roland Garros It is a reward for perseverance Beatriz Haddad Maia. To resilience. After years of struggle and hard work to overcome moments and situations that complicated her life and her career, from injuries and surgeries to a suspension for doping, which kept her away from the courts for almost a year. Nothing could with the fighting spirit of the Brazilian, who inherited the passion for this sport from her mother Lais Scaff Haddad and her grandmother, Arlette Scaff Haddadwho were successful players in their country.

Physical problems were a constant for the woman born in Sao Paulo since her early years on the major women’s tennis circuit. In 2013, she suffered an injury to her right shoulder due to a dislocation and also a fractured humerus, when she fell during a match. This led to three herniated discs, which caused severe pain and even caused momentary paralysis in their legs. Finally, she went under the knife to fix them. And in 2015 she had to undergo surgery again due to her shoulder problems.

At the end of 2016, when she was already the best Brazilian in the world ranking and seemed prepared to enter the top 100 the following year, she suffered a domestic accident – “a silly trip”, as she said – and fractured two vertebrae, for what that in 2017 he was only able to start his season in April. And in 2018, the year in which she was on the verge of entering the group of the 50 best, a discomfort in the left wrist, first, and a lower back injury, which forced her to undergo another operation, they stopped her ascent.

The hardest blow, however, came in 2019, right at the best moment of his career (until then) and just a few weeks after having celebrated one of his best victories (in his debut at Wimbledon ante Garbiñe Muguruza27th, after passing the qualy), the International Tennis Federation (ITF) imposed a provisional suspension for failing an anti-doping control. According to the ITF, a urine sample that Haddad Maia had provided in early July at a tournament in Croatia had tested positive for two banned SARM-type anabolics.

After the discharge of the player and the investigationthe ITF determined that the Brazilian had ingested the substances due to “cross contamination”, since they were found in the analysis of the vitamin supplements that she took on medical recommendation. Thus, she had to serve a 10-month sentence. On top of that, when she served her “sentence”, in May 2020, the circuit was stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic and she was only able to step on a court again in September of that year. It had fallen to the 1,342 step of the ranking.

“I went from heaven to hell. I came from the biggest victory of my career, against Muguruza at Wimbledon. I was living an incredible moment in my life. It was like a punch in the stomach,” he said after his return in an interview with the portal The Voice of Tennis.

Haddad overcame all obstacles and started again from scratch. With hard work and without rushing, he was building his career again. Last year, she was finally able to inaugurate her track record on the WTA Tour, by being crowned in consecutive weeks at the WTA 250 of Nottingham y Birmingham, on the English lawn. In August, in addition, he reached the final in the WTA 1000 de Toronto and got into the top 20 for the first time. And at the start of this 2023, after making the semifinals in the 500 of Abu Dhabi, reached 12th place, his best position so far. Because his career until the semis of Roland Garros He already assured him, at least, the tenth position.

“After four surgeries it has not been easy to come back, I had very difficult moments in my career. Apart from the surgeries, I broke two bones in my back and shoulder that made me stop again. Just for my body I had six or seven stops in my career, forced to start over. In addition, I was off the tour for a year, so it was not easy to maintain the level and improve my tennis always with comings and goings, “he reflected after defeating Jabeur in Paris.

“In Futures and Challengers there is a different level, so you need to develop your mentality to the maximum. I had to fight a lot in those moments to build my game, my team also worked very hard, that’s why now these moments are coming to us. Nobody knows how much we worked with my team to get here”. he added she.

admirer of Guga Kuerten -who accompanied her closely and helped her during the suspension for doping-, Haddad Maia is aware of her strengths as a player and does not hesitate to point out that one of her best qualities is her head. The Brazilian never loses focus, she remains focused even in the most difficult moments of the matches and never stops fighting.

“The key is to play each one of the points, no matter how the score goes. I always try to be positive, to think that if I feel nervous my opponent will be too. My coach sent me an interview Novak Djokovic in which he talked about nerves. And I think that if Djokovic feels nervous, who am I not to feel them? It’s normal and we have to accept it, be humble and improve under pressure,” he commented.

And he added: “A tennis match is like a marathon, never a 100-meter race. I think it’s one of my qualities, that I hope a lot and I’m patient, I never give up, I usually wait for the moment because I know that the level it’s high. Even when I’m not playing well, or if I’m missing a few shots, I know he’s going to show up and tennis and I’ll have a chance.”

With patience and dedication, Haddad Maia managed to leave behind the hard times he experienced due to injuries, physical problems and that positive doping that delayed his arrival in the elite. And so he also managed to advance steadily and make history at Roland Garros.

With information from AFP