(Provided by Tennis World USA)
After a match that lasted over 2 hours, Beatriz Haddad Maia surrendered to the defending Roland Garros champion, Iga Swiatek, in the semifinals. The Pole won the match with a score of 6-2, 7-6. The Brazilian, at the first such important milestone in her career, talked at the press conference about the emotion of treading Philippe Chatrier against the number one in the world.
She explained: “Today Iga was a better player than me. I think I was too emotional at first. My first semifinal against Iga, world number one, on Philippe Chatrier, with many Brazilians in the crowd. I was unable to remain disciplined, to concentrate on the things I had to do, but I did my best.”
Swiatek looking for the third title in Paris
The Warsaw-born tennis player, on the other hand, looking for her third title in Paris in 4 years, did not hide her satisfaction for this latest great achievement.
Iga told: “I’m very happy to be back in the final, it wasn’t easy especially in the second set. At times the match was stressful but I remained solid and closed the match in the tiebreak. Congratulations to Beatriz who played very well.
Maia takes advantage of being left-handed and uses a lot this in service. Tactically it’s different, you need to change a lot because you don’t find many left-handed opponents. But I knew I could take advantage of my strength on clay, I put the competition on a physical level and I must say I was very confident in my qualities.” On the next opponent, Karolina Muchova, Swiatek told: “I know her game, we’ve had many training sessions together since 2019 and I see her even more than other colleagues.
I like her game, I respect her a lot and I feel she can do anything. She has a big hand, she is capable of big accelerations and has a great technique. I am ready and I want to win at any cost.”
