Beatriz Haddad Maia Becomes First Brazilian Woman to Reach Top 10 of the WTA Rankings

Beatriz Haddad Maia’s French Open dream run may have fallen short of a title, but it still lead to a piece of history.

The 27-year-old Brazilian professional tennis player has become the first Brazilian woman to reach the top 10 of the WTA rankings after reaching the semifinals at Roland Garros.

Beatriz Haddad MaiaHaddad Maia beat Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals in Paris to become the first Brazilian woman in 55 years to reach a Grand Slam semifinal.

She was beaten by eventual champion Iga Swiatek.

Brazilian women’s tennis has had precious little success since the days of Maria Bueno, who won seven Grand Slam titles between 1959 and 1966 — long before the WTA rankings were introduced in 1975.

Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten reached No. 1 in the men’s ATP rankings in 2000.

Haddad Maia will take a ranking of No. 10 into the grass-court season in which she impressed last year and will feature in this week’s Nottingham Open as buildup to Wimbledon begins.

Swiatek, who won her third career French Open title Saturday, and Aryna Sabalenka remained at Nos. 1-2 in the rankings, while Elena Rybakina and Caroline Garcia each moved up one spot to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. American Jessica Pegula rounded out the top five.

Beatriz Haddad Maia Outlasts Ons Jabeur to Reach French Open Semifinals

Beatriz Haddad Maia is continuing her historic run at the French Open

The 27-year-old Brazilian tennis player notched another comeback win at Roland Garros, pulling off an upset win over Ons Jabeur 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1 on Wednesday to become the first Brazilian woman since 1968 to reach a Grand Slam semifinal.

Beatriz Haddad Maia The 14th-seeded Haddad Maia shook off a slow start against the seventh-seeded Jabeur on Court Philippe Chatrier and will next face Iga Swiatek in the semifinals.

After playing nearly four hours to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo in the fourth round, Haddad Maia won only one service game in the first set. But she saved the only two break points she faced in the second set — both in the 11th game to go up 6-5 — and won the tiebreaker.

Haddad Maia started the deciding set with a double break and a 3-0 lead. A frustrated Jabeur flipped her racket in the air after sending an easy backhand wide on a break-point opportunity while down 4-1. Haddad Maia won the game and served out the match.

“I had to be patient and keep doing the shots because she is a pretty good player, one of the best in the world,” Haddad Maia said. “So I am proud of me and my team today because it is not easy playing her. You think you have another shot to play [in a rally] but then drop shot, winner. I always believed that the match is long.”

Haddad Maia, who in 2019 was provisionally suspended for failing a doping test, is the first Brazilian woman to reach the semifinals at Roland Garros in the Open era. Maria Bueno reached the last four at the 1966 French Open and made the 1968 US Open semifinals.

Haddad Maia’s fourth-round win over Sorribes Tormo, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5, was the longest WTA match of the year, clocking in at 3 hours, 51 minutes. She has dropped the first set in her past three matches and has played three sets in all but her first-round victory.

Entering the French Open, Haddad Maia was 1-11 in Grand Slams when losing the first set.

The last Brazilian player to win a singles title at the French Open was Gustavo Kuerten, who claimed his third championship at Roland Garros in 2001.

Beatriz Haddad Maia Becomes First Brazilian Woman in 55 Years to Reach Grand Slam Quarterfinals

Beatriz Haddad Maia has earned a place in Brazilian tennis history…

The 27-year-old Brazilian professional tennis player became the first Brazilian woman in 55 years to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam when she beat Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-7(3) 6-3 7-5 at the French Open on Monday.

Maria Bueno, who won seven singles titles at the slams, was the last Brazilian woman to reach the quarterfinals at a major in 1968, although Haddad Maia says she still cannot compare with the great “dancing tennis player”.

“She’s a person who inspired us for a lot of years. I think she’s a very powerful woman,” 14th seed Haddad Maia told a press conference after winning the longest women’s match at this year’s tournament.

“I have a picture with her in Wimbledon. That was a lucky day. Also, I met her a few times in Sao Paulo. Unfortunately, she passed away (in 2018) but we chatted a few times.

“I’m very proud to represent Brazil. But for sure I don’t compare myself with her, because for me, she’s on another level, like Guga (Kuerten).”

Haddad Maia, the tournament’s No. 14 seed, will next face No. 7 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia.

Soares Makes History After Winning Two Australian Open Doubles Titles

Bruno Soares is seeing double

The 33-year-old Brazilian tennis player made history at this year’s Australian Open by winning two doubles championship matches.

Bruno Soares & Elena Vesnina

On Sunday afternoon, Soares added the mixed doubles title with Elena Vesnina to the men’s doubles championship he won with Jamie Murray.

Vesnina and Soares won the final four points of the match tiebreaker to take the mixed doubles title with a 6-4, 4-6, 10-5 win over American Coco Vandeweghe and Horia Tecau of Romania.

A little more than 16 hours earlier — after 1 a.m. Sunday — Soares and Murray defeated Daniel Nestor and Radek Stepanek 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, also at Rod Laver Arena.

Bruno Soares & Jamie Murray

A Brazilian player had never won any title at the Australian Open. Now the country has two.

Soares said he didn’t finish media commitments at Melbourne Park until 2 a.m. Sunday then had to do some Brazilian press requests from his hotel room.

“I went to bed at 5, set my alarm for 11, woke up at 8:30 … been living on coffee ever since,” Soares said. “So I had 22 coffees already.”

Vesnina interjected, laughing: “I got a [text] message from him at 4:30 [a.m.], ‘I’m ready, partner.'”

It was all worth it, Soares said.

“I knew I had another important day today. You don’t get a chance to play many Grand Slam finals,” he said. “I mean, I got two in the same day.”

Soares said the level of excitement in Brazil over his achievements was high.

“It’s the first time a Brazilian guy competes in two Grand Slam finals in the same event,” he said. “They were talking a lot about that. And winning both makes it even more special.

“It’s tough to compare or relate anything to Guga [the nickname for Gustavo Kuerten, who won three French Open singles titles]. He’s such a hero for us. He’s so above the sport and everything else. But for me it’s a massive achievement. It doesn’t get much better than that. I came here to play two events, and I won both.”

Soares said he hopes his win will give tennis a boost in his home country ahead of the Olympics in August. He visited the tennis complex in Rio in December and gave it the thumbs-up.

“You guys hear a lot of things about Brazil … not all the time that good,” he said. “We’re famous for hosting well, for welcoming. We’re a very warm country. I hope it’s going to be an amazing Games.”

Melo & Ivan Dodig Win French Open Men’s Doubles Title

It’s a special first for Marcelo Melo

The 31-year-old Brazilian tennis player and his doubles partner Ivan Dodig rallied from near defeat to upset two-time French Open champions and top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-5 in the Roland Garros men’s doubles final on Saturday.

Marcelo Melo & Ivan Dodig

In the process, Melo and Dodig captured their first Grand Slam title as a team, having previously finished runner-up to the Bryans in the 2013 Wimbledon final.

They exacted revenge on the American twins after also falling in the 2014 ATP World Tour Finals title match, overcoming a set and a break deficit.

Both teams remained on serve in the third set until 5-5, when Melo’s quick hands at the net gave them the decisive break. A Dodig lunging forehand winner would hand them their first championship point a game later, which they converted after two hours and 15 minutes.

“It was a great atmosphere,” said Melo during the on-court ceremony. “We thought we could do big things when we got together four years ago and our faith paid off. It wasn’t easy playing with Guga there in the stands, but thank you for coming to support us.”

“Thank you to all the people who came to watch a great match,” added Dodig. “We will continue to play many more tournaments.”

The Brazilian-Croatian tandem won their third tour-level title together. They also triumphed at the 2013 Shanghai Rolex Masters and 2015 Abierto Mexicano Telcel. With Gustavo Kuerten in the crowd, Melo became the first Brazilian champion at Roland Garros since 2001, when “Guga” won the men’s singles title.

The Bryans, meanwhile, were bidding to claim an Open Era record third Roland Garros team title and an unprecedented 17th overall at the Grand Slam level.

“Congratulations to Ivan and Marcelo,” said Bob. “It was a great match today. They’re good friends of ours and it’s good for the game. Got to thank the crowd for sticking around, it was a great atmosphere. Lastly, we’d like to thank our team. It’s great having my wife and the kids on the road.”

Orantes Elected to International Tennis Hall of Fame

Rafael Nadal won his first and only U.S. Open title in 2010… But fellow Spaniard Manuel Orantes claimed the U.S. Open crown some 35 years before. And, now he’ll be forever immortalized in Newport, Rhode Island.

The 63-year-old Spanish tennis legend has been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the master player category.

Manuel Orantes

Along with winning the 1975 U.S. Open by beating Jimmy Connors in straight sets in the final, Orantes was the runner-up to Bjorn Borg at the 1974 French Open.

Orantes reached No. 2 in the rankings in 1973, and he was in the year-ending top 10 for five consecutive years.

Along with Orantes, this year’s inductees will include former world No. 1 Jennifer Capriati and former French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten.

The induction ceremony will be held on July 14, 2012 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.