Beatriz Haddad Maia defeats Belinda Bencic to reach Toronto semifinals
Aug 13, 2022
Montreal [Canada], August 13 : Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil pulled off a stunning win on Friday to reach the semifinals at the National Bank Open, defeating Belinda Bencic of Switzerland.
Haddad Maia took two hours and 11 minutes to battle past 2015 National Bank Open champion Bencic 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
"It's nice because Brazil is huge, so we have Brazilians everywhere. So I always feel the energy. Someone is always screaming, 'Vamos Beatriz.' And today I saw a lot of Brazilian flags. And I feel very proud of us," WTA quoted Beatriz as saying.
Haddad Maia will face No.14 seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the semifinals, who outlasted China's Zheng Qinwen 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a match that ended just after midnight local time.
Earlier, Beatriz Haddad Maia continued her outstanding form and winning run at the National Bank Open as she defeated World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the Round of 16 to reach the quarterfinals.
With this win, the 26-year-old became the first Brazilian woman to advance to the quarterfinal stage of a WTA 1000 tournament.
The win was Haddad Maia's first win over a World Number one.
