The Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, 14th player in the world, created a surprise on Tuesday June 7 by beating the Tunisian Ons Jabeur 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 to qualify for the semi-finals of Roland- Garros.
Published on : 07/06/2023 – 13:56
Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian woman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since 1968 on Wednesday (June 7) when she came back from a set down to defeat Ons Jabeur at Roland Garros.
World number 14 Haddad Maia won in three sets: 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1. It ended the career of Jabeur, 7th in the world, Wimbledon and US Open finalist last year, and still looking for his first Major. Since his debut at Roland-Garros, Ons Jabeur reached the quarter-finals for the first time in 2023.
« I am very proud of myself”
The feeling is great, since Beatriz Haddad Maia had never managed to pass the second round of a Grand Slam before her Porte d’Auteuil adventure.
The Sao Paulo native signs the biggest feat of her career, hampered by four operations and a ten-month suspension for testing positive for anabolics in July 2019. Her lawyers had at the time succeeded in proving that he it was an error by the pharmacy that provided him with food supplements.
« I am very proud of myself”, blew Haddad Maia at the microphone of the Philippe-Chatrier court after his victory. The player looked in disbelief after picking up her winning match point, ending the game in 2h 29min.
Much less than her previous match, completed in nearly four hours (3 h 51 min) against the Spaniard Sara Sorribes, which made it the third longest women’s singles in the history of the tournament.
Authoritative in the first set, Ons Jabeur gradually lost the thread of his match, abusing drop shots to take advantage of his opponent’s not efficient enough forward movement.
« You have to be patient, it’s not easy to keep up. I tried to stay focused on my game and not think about his commented Haddad Maia.
The Brazilian managed to turn the game around in the second set tiebreaker, before taking Jabeur’s serve early in the third to fly away to victory.
With AFP
