With a strong and consistent backcourt game, but good arrivals at the net for volleys that raised the crowd, Beatriz Haddad Maia beat the American Emma Navarro by two sets to zero, partials of 6/4 and 6/4, in the second round of the Madrid Open. The Brazilian took advantage of every space on the clay court in a match with extremely competitive games and advanced to the round of 16 of the WTA 1000 in Madrid, when she will face the Greek Maria Sakkari, number 6 in the world, next Monday (29). Exciting detail: Bia won all three times she and Sakkari faced each other.
The match was fierce. Bia, number 14 in the world, showed more strength and consistency than Navarro, number 23, but also had to chase the result and prevent her opponent’s break points at different moments of the game.
The first set started with both players studying each other. Each confirmed their first withdrawal. But in the third game, Bia imposed a more aggressive pace of play and broke Navarro’s serve.
The American then returned the break in the longest, most contested and most exciting game of the match. The two were tied at 40-40 five times. Bia, who hit a volley to lift the crowd, had two chances to confirm his serve. Navarro had three break points, and confirmed the third, leaving everything the same in the match, with a break for each side.
Women’s tennis gains strength on and off the court
The next two games, to compensate, were very fast. Each tennis player confirmed their service without any major difficulties, leaving the match tied at 3-3. But in the next game, Bia broke again, this time calmly, and confirmed the service in the next game, extending it to 5-3. Navarro reduced the difference to 5 to 4. But he needed to break Bia’s serve again in the next game to not lose the first set.
The tenth and decisive game of the set was, then, again long and disputed, with the two players taking turns leading the score. With Bia serving, the American had a break point, which she wasted on a return error, throwing the ball into the net. Navarro still had the chance to win the game with two other break points. But Bia recovered from the loss and closed the first set 6-4.
The second set was very similar to the first, with many ball exchanges at the back of the court, good parallels from the American and decisive hits into Bia’s net. The two tennis players were tied at four to four throughout the ninth game. In it, then, Bia took advantage of an unforced error from Navarro to break his serve. And then it was just a matter of confirming his serve and repeating the score from the first set: 6-4.
With the victory, Bia reached the round of 16 of a WTA 1000 for the first time since Rome, in May last year.
Bia Haddad, Thiago Monteiro and Thiago Wild won their first two games and are already in the third round of Madrid. Luisa Stefani, who plays doubles alongside the Dutch Demi Schuurs, also won in her debut at the Spanish tournament and advanced.
Now, in the round of 16 of the WTA 1000 in Madrid, Bia Haddad will face the Greek Maria Sakkari, number 6 in the world, next Monday (29). On the same day, Luisa and Demi face the Chinese duo Xinyu Wang and Saisai Zheng.
Thiago Monteiro, in the third round of the Masters 1000 in Madrid, will face the Czech Jiri Lehecka, 31st in the ATP rankings. While Thiago Wild will take on the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, 3rd in the world and current two-time champion in Madrid.
