Roland-Garros Beatriz Haddad Maia surprises Ons Jabeur and reaches the semi-finals

(Paris) Beatriz Haddad Maia completed another winning comeback at the French Open on Wednesday after beating Ons Jabeur 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 to become the first Brazilian player since 1968 to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament.

Haddad Maia, 14^e seeded, shrugged off a slow start against Jabeur on the Philippe-Chatrier court en route to victory. She will face in the next round Iga Swiatek, world number 1 and holder of the trophy, who dominated the American Coco Gauff (N.6) 6-4, 6-2 in the quarter-finals, as in the final of the 2022 edition.

Haddad Maia qualified for her first major semi-final, at 27, at the expense of world No.7 Ons Jabeur 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 earlier in the day. The other semi-final will oppose the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, world No.2, on Thursday against the Czech Karolina Muchova (43^e).

After playing a nearly four-hour match against Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo in the fourth round, Haddad Maia won just one service game in the first set. However, she saved the two break points offered to her opponent in the next set – both occurred in the 11^e game, when the score could go to 6-5 – and she won the tiebreaker.

The 27-year-old Brazilian started the deciding set with two breaks to quickly build a 3-0 lead. Jabeur, the seventh seed, then lost patience and threw her racquet skyward after missing a backhand that would have lost her to record the break as she trailed 1-4. Haddad Maia finally won the game, and sealed the outcome of the meeting in the next game.

Jabeur was a finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open last year.

Haddad Maia has become the first Brazilian player of the modern era to reach the semi-finals at Roland-Garros. Marie Bueno found herself in the semi-finals at the 1966 French Open, and in the 1968 United States Open.

Meanwhile, Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu and her Australian playing partner Michael Venus advanced to the mixed doubles final after beating Ontario’s Gabriela Dabrowski and her American teammate Nathaniel Lammons 7-6 (5), 7 -6 (4).

Andreescu and Venus will face Japan’s Miyu Kato — who was fined earlier this week for accidentally hitting a ball attendant in the neck with a ball — and Germany’s Tim Puez.

Then, a little later today, Quebecer Leylah Annie Fernandez and her American playing partner Taylor Townsend will face Taiwanese Latisha Chan and Chan Hao-ching in the women’s doubles quarter-finals.