Beatriz Haddad Maia makes history

Defending champion Iga Swiatek will play Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in the French Open semi-finals today at 6.30 pm (IST) after the top seed defeated Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 yesterday in a rematch of last year’s final.

World No. 1 Swiatek improved her record at Roland Garros to 26-2 after beating Gauff for the seventh time in as many meetings.

The 22-year-old from Poland is chasing a third French Open crown and attempting to become the first woman to successfully defend the title in Paris since Justine Henin in 2007.

Maia makes history

Beatriz Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian woman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since 1968 yesterday when she came back from a set down to defeat Ons Jabeur at the French Open. World number 14 Haddad Maia came through 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 and will face top-ranked defending champion Iga Swiatek.

The 27-year-old left-hander follows in the footsteps of seven-time major winner Maria Bueno who was the last Brazilian woman in the semi-finals of a major at the US Open 55 years ago. Bueno, who passed away in 2018, made the last four in Paris in 1966 before the advent of the Open era.