Beatriz Haddad Maia is in the quarterfinals of WTA 500 in Abu Dhabi! The Brazilian tennis player, number 13 in the world, defeated Poland’s Magda Linette by 2 sets to 1 in almost 4 hours of play in the round of 16 of the tournament held in the United Arab Emirates, which has broadcast by ESPN on Star+.
Bia Haddad now faces a challenge to seek a place in the semi-finals. The 27-year-old from São Paulo could face either 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu or three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur. The British and the Tunisian face off in the round of 16 of the tournament and see that they advance to the quarterfinals to face the Brazilian.
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In the match this Wednesday (07), Bia, who is seeded number 6 in Abu Dhabi, started a little off and had her serve broken in the 1st game of the 1st set. The Brazilian reacted and returned the break against Linette when the score was 3-2 for the Pole. The game remained very balanced, and the WTA No. 13 only stood out in the tie-break, winning 8-6. The first set took an hour and twenty-four minutes until the Brazilian opened up the lead in the game.
In the 2nd set, the dynamics of the match remained the same. Bia Haddad was broken at 3 to 4, but managed to break Linette’s serve soon after with the Polish serving for the 2nd set. The match was again decided in a tie-break, but this time with the Polish team winning 7-1.
In the decisive set, the two tennis players continued to oscillate and have difficulty confirming the serve. However, Bia Haddad managed to attack a little more and took advantage of a slight loss from Linette to open up the advantage and close the match with 6-1. In the last game of the match, the Brazilian even faced a break point to confirm the serve with great difficulty. The match ended after 3 hours and 42 minutes of play.
It was the 2nd meeting between Bia Haddad and Magda Linette on the WTA circuit. The Brazilian remains undefeated against the Pole after getting the better of the first duel between the two last year at the WTA 1000 in Rome.
Beatriz Haddad Maia is also in the doubles bracket of the WTA 500 in Abu Dhabi. The number 1 tennis player in Brazil forms a 100% national partnership with Luisa Stefani, for the first time in almost 5 years. The Brazilian duo, who are the No. 2 seed in the Emirati tournament, are in the quarterfinals and will face the Americans Desirae Krawczyk and Caroline Dolehide this Thursday morning with broadcast on Star+.