Beatriz becomes first Brazilian woman in 55 years to enter a Grand Slam quarter-final after epic three-hour, 51-minute battle with Spain’s Sorribes
Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia celebrates a point against Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo in Paris yesterday. Pic/AFP
Beatriz Haddad Maia battled from a set and 0-3 down to defeat Sara Sorribes Tormo in the third longest women’s match ever played at Roland Garros to reach a maiden Grand Slam quarter-final on Monday.
ADVERTISEMENT
The 27-year-old Brazilian left-hander came through 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 7-5 against her 132nd-ranked Spanish opponent on Court Suzanne Lenglen after three hours and 51 minutes.
The match was just 16 minutes short of the record four hours and seven minutes it took Virginie Buisson to beat French compatriot Noelle van Lottum in the first round at Roland Garros in 1995.
Maria Bueno did it in 1968
Haddad Maia is the first Brazilian woman in a Slam quarter-final since seven-time major winner Maria Bueno in 1968 and will face world number seven Ons Jabeur of Tunisia for a place in the semi-finals.
Bueno also made the quarter-final of Wimbledon and semi-final of the US Open that year. Haddad Maia, ranked 14, claimed victory on a fourth match point.
“I am very happy and very proud that I didn’t give up and I think that is why I deserved this victory,” she said. “The key was to play all the points regardless of the score.
“I thought that if I was nervous, my opponent would be too. And Novak Djokovic says that he is nervous sometimes. If he is, who am I not to be?”
Haddad Maia had already saved a match point in her last-32 win over Ekaterina Alexandrova to become the first Brazilian woman in the fourth round in Paris since 1979. The 26-year-old Sorribes Tormo had made the last 16 after fourth seed and Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina withdrew from their third round clash with illness. She looked the fresher of the two on Monday as she took the first set and was a double break up in the second before Haddad Maia rallied.
The Brazilian swept the next six games to level the tie and broke in the opening game of the decider. Sorribes Tormo broke back immediately but couldn’t capitalise as Haddad Maia reclaimed the advantage in the fifth game.
In a tense finish, Sorribes Tormo saved three match points in the ninth game and broke serve to level at 5-5. But Haddad Maia broke straight back and this time held her nerve.
She is no stranger to energy-sapping duels. In Rome last month, Haddad Maia dropped a three-hour 41-minute quarter-final to Anhelina Kalinina, which is now the second longest women’s match of 2023.
Casper Ruud
Ruud enters Last 8
Meanwhile, Casper Ruud, last year’s French Open runner-up, reached the quarter-finals on Monday after beating Chile’s Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, 7-5.
The fourth seed from Norway avenged last month’s Geneva Open quarter-final defeat by Jarry to set up a potential rematch of a bad-tempered 2022 Roland Garros quarter-final with Holger Rune. The 24-year-old Ruud edged a tight first set in a tie-break and trailed by a break in both the second and third sets before seeing off the 35th-ranked Jarry.
In another match, Coco Gauff reached the French Open quarter-finals for a third successive year with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to set up a possible clash with World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. Gauff, the US sixth seed, was defeated by Swiatek in the 2022 final at Roland Garros. On Monday, she endured a rollercoaster of a first set against her Slovakian opponent who was in the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time.
Also Read: French Open: Elena Rybakina withdraws from tournament due to health issues
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
