TORONTO — No. 24 Beatriz Haddad Maia continued her excellent run of form over the past two months to defeat world No. 1 Iga Swiatek 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in the round of 16 of the National Bank Open. The win was the 26-year-old’s first over a world No.1 and she became the first Brazilian woman to reach the quarter-finals of a WTA 1000 tournament.
Since the beginning of June, only Caroline Garcia has won more matches than Haddad Maia, who now has 15 wins. A back-to-back champion on the grass in Nottingham and Birmingham, the Brazilian arrived in Toronto at a career-high ranking of No. 24. His form over the first two rounds was strong, including wins over the semifinalist of the French Open Martina Trevisan and US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez.
“I had a lot of hard times in my career,” Haddad Maia said. “I’ve already had four operations and I’m only 26 years old. So when I have special moments I try to enjoy them. Because sometimes we think: Oh, no, I’m not that happy. I’m not that, I don’t think about winning.
“But the truth is that I have been working for 15 years to live this moment, to live this dream that I have worked so hard for.”
Watch this: Haddad Maia’s Top 5 Points at Best Swiatek in Toronto
2022 Toronto
How the match was won: In windy conditions that Simona Halep described as “impossible”, Haddad Maia was the steadier player throughout the first set. As Swiatek struggled to generate a single break point on the Brazilian’s serve, Haddad Maia put constant pressure on the world No.1. Swiatek played 40 points on his serve in the first set compared to 25 for Haddad Maia. An early break for Haddad Maia was all she needed to move methodically into the first set.
“I think at first it was hard for me to find my rhythm on the court,” Swiatek said. “Probably because she’s left-handed and it was hard for me to adjust to her serve. And besides the wind. I think without the wind I would have done it. But it was crazy out there.”
Haddad Maia continued the comeback pressure early in the second set. In the longest game of the match, Swiatek faced five break points in the first game to hold for 15-40. Once again, the set would be decided by a single break. Finally, Swiatek broke Haddad Maia’s serve for a 4-2 lead and closed it out from there.
The third remained a close affair. Swiatek earned the opening break at 1-0, but Haddad Maia broke twice to take a 4-2 lead. At 4-3, Haddad Maia broke again to level the match.
Ultimately, Haddad Maia’s continued return pressure would decide the game. He generated 19 breakaway chances in the game compared to Swiatek’s nine. While Swiatek saved 15 break points, the built-up pressure paid off in the end. With Swiatek serving at 5-6 to force a break, Haddad Maia broke the Pole’s second serve to win more match points at 15-40. Haddad Maia converted his fourth match point to close out the three-hour match and the biggest win of his career.
Match Stat: Haddad Maia committed just 12 unforced errors over the course of the long match, an impressive number in calm conditions let alone in the turbulent conditions he faced against Swiatek. Haddad Maia also hit 23 winners. Swiatek finished the match with 33 winners and 28 unforced errors.
Haddad Maia’s mental fortitude: “I knew I had to play my best tennis,” Haddad Maia said. “And I could beat myself too, even if I played well. So I was trying to play every point without excuse. I was trying to forget what I did wrong, the mistakes, and go for it. just trying to live in the present, play point by point .
“The weather conditions are out of our control, we can’t control them. So it’s not something I can handle. So I have to deal with it. And, yeah, I think I did a good job mentally.”