Brazil’s Haddad Maia Wins Birmingham Tournament
Haddad Maia, who is 32nd ranked, has won the Birmingham tournament, the first title for a Brazilian woman. She is the third woman to win the event this year, and will likely be seeded for Wimbledon. The win will also boost Haddad Maia’s ranking to 29. With her latest win, Haddad Maia will have earned the right to play at Wimbledon in 2022.
After reaching the semifinals of the event, Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian woman in the Open Era to make it this far. She defeated two Japanese players, including No. 2 seed Shuko Aoyama, in order to advance to the final. Eventually, the Brazilian reached the final, beating top seed Ena Shibahara. She will be the third Brazilian woman to win a Grand Slam title.
Haddad Maia won the Birmingham Classic to make her run to the WTA final unbeaten. Earlier in the week, she reached the Nottingham Open final and won the doubles title. Then, she defended her Birmingham title with a dominant performance, which was enough to lift the trophy and the LTA Championships. She then proceeded to win the Birmingham Classic title.
The final match between Haddad Maia and Zhang saw Haddad Maia dominate her opponents. After winning the first two games, she had three opportunities to extend her lead to 3-0. However, in the third game, Haddad Maia broke Zhang, and in the final, Zhang was down 5-4. After the final, the two players hugged each other and exchanged pleasantries.
Haddad Maia, from Brazil, has won her second WTA title in as many weeks. The semi-finals on Saturday were postponed due to rain, but Haddad Maia made the final on Sunday. She defeated Sorana Cirstea and Simona Halep. In the final, she faced a tough opponent – Zhang Shuai. She had been leading the match until she was injured in the third set tiebreak.
The Brazilian had a good start to the season, playing two WTA International events. At the Rio Open, she reached the quarter-finals where she defeated Maria Irigoyen, Polona Hercog, and Sara Errani. After the US Open, she played in 60K clay-court events in Europe, winning Montreux and Collonge-Bellerive. In the doubles competition, she teamed up with Cepede Royg and reached the final. She then lost to fourth seed Lara Arruabarrena in the semifinals.