Brazil has its first female tennis player in the Roland Garros semi-finals

France's Beatriz Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian woman to reach a clay-court Grand Slam semi-final in the Open Era, defeating Ons Jabeur 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1.

For the third consecutive match of the tournament, Haddad Maia came back from a set down. Against in-form Ons Jabeur, the 14th seed was down 3-6 in the first set and faced two break points at 5-5 in the second set. But after saving two service games, Haddad Maia scored consecutive winners to win 7-5 in the tie-break. The Brazilian took advantage of a series of unforced errors from Jabeur to win the third set 6-1 and close out 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

Haddad Maia has been the subject of a string of long matches in recent weeks. In the fourth round of Roland Garros, she and Sarra Sorribes Tormo produced the longest women's singles match of the year, winning 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. The match broke the 2023 record set by a meeting in Rome three weeks earlier, also involving Haddad Maia, who lost 7-6, 6-7, 3-6 to Anhelina Kalinina.

Haddad Maia saved a match point in the third round against Ekaterina Alexandrova on her way to the semi-finals. She is the first Brazilian to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros in the Open Era (since 1968). Maria Bueno previously reached the final of the clay Grand Slam in 1964.

In his 11 previous Grand Slam appearances, Haddad Maia has never gone beyond the second round. His win over Ons Jabeur was the first time the Brazilian has defeated a top 10 opponent at a Grand Slam. In the semi-finals, Haddad Maia faces a formidable challenge in Iga Swiatek - who easily defeated Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 in a rematch of last year's Roland Garros final.

The remaining women's singles semi-final will be between world number two Aryna Sabalenka and Czech player Karolina Muchova. The two women's singles semi-finals will take place from 8pm on Thursday, June 9, Hanoi time.

Vy Anh

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