Paris, June 7 (IANS) Beatriz Haddad Maia on Wednesday became the first Brazilian woman to reach the Roland Garros semifinals in the Open Era after upsetting No.7 seed Tunisian Ons Jabeur 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1, here.
Maia also became the first Brazilian woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since Maria Bueno in 1968 (US Open). Bueno made the French Open semifinals on five occasions prior to the Open Era, including a run to the 1964 final.
Jabeur, who is the first African woman to reach the last eight at Roland-Garros since Amanda Coetzer in 1997, grabbed the opening set 6-3 in 45 minutes.
However, Maia bounced back and snatched the second set tiebreak, levelling the match for 3-6, 7-6(5). She continued with her resilience and clinched the third set 6-1 to wrap up the historic win.
After an upset win, the 27-year-old awaits Iga Swiatek or Coco Gauff, who are up next on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Prior to this Roland Garros, the Brazilian player had not gone beyond the second round in 11 previous Grand Slam main-draw appearances. Nor had she won a set from Jabeur in two previous encounters.
Haddad Maia’s defeat of Jabeur is her ninth career Top 10 win, and first on the Grand Slam stage. She advances to her second tour-level semifinal of 2023 following Abu Dhabi in February.
–IANS
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