Bia Haddad doubles attention with harassment on social networks – 06/12/2023 – Sport

Beatriz Haddad Maia’s long campaign at the French Open brought to mind Gustavo Kuerten’s victorious journeys in the tournament. Guga himself went to the Philippe-Chatrier court to see Bia in action, who was only a year old when he triumphed on clay at Roland Garros, in Paris.

Today, 27, the woman from São Paulo treats the Santa Catarina native as an “idol”, as she said after her victory over Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo, in the round of 16. She even moved to Florianópolis, as a teenager, to train with Kuerten’s old coach, Larri Passos. And now she plays the role that Gustavo once played: attracting attention to a modality in which Brazil has not had a “top 10” since the beginning of the century.

“I hope that the recent results of Brazilian tennis will bring more players to our modality, especially children, young people. In my case, inspiring girls to believe in their dreams and, who knows, creating more opportunities within the country also for the whole world”, said Haddad to the Sheet.

The current game is different from that practiced at the time of Guga, Roland Garros champion in 1997, 2000 and 2001. According to Beatriz, tennis is faster, on and off the court, which requires a series of care.

“The speed at which information propagates has changed, I think that’s the main point. All players can see, know each other, there’s technology involved. I think the speed of the game has also increased, but we don’t necessarily compete better than before,” he said.

“I think the big challenge, worth mentioning, is extra-court care. Anyone can, in a way, send a message, make something reach someone, regardless of who that person is. This has good things and bad things, but I think that, in general, we need to be even more vigilant,” he added.

Bia already had relevance on the circuit, but became a much better known figure at the French Open. She showed a firm game from the back of the court, with a powerful “forehand”, and also showed a personality to overcome difficulties -aggressive, she saved “match point” against the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova and came out of a hole to win a battle of almost four hours with Sorribes Tormo.

The convincing victory over the Tunisian Ons Jabeur, then number seven in the world, put a Brazilian athlete in the semifinals of the singles bracket of a Grand Slam series tournament –which brings together the four main tennis disputes– for the first time since the tri of Guga in Paris, in 2001. On the women’s circuit, the fast dates back to 1968, when the ace Maria Esther Bueno reached that stage in the United States.

Haddad stopped only at the leader of the ranking, the Polish Iga Swiatek, who two days later would be three-time champion at Roland Garros. It was a tough game, in which the São Paulo player was very close to forcing the third set. She didn’t force it, but she left the championship bigger than she entered it and with the tenth position on the WTA list, the international association of tennis players.

“The ranking, for us, is a consequence of the well-done process, of the daily process with quality, of what is in my control, of what I do on a daily basis, of the way I train and eat, of the people who surround me. That’s what I spend all my energy on, leaving this matter of point, of ranking, as something natural, secondary and a consequence of work,” he said.

Grass season begins now. The Brazilian, before a disappointing defeat on her debut at Wimbledon, won at this stage of the “tour”, in 2022, the only two elite titles of her career, in Nottingham and Birmingham. She will need to defend the points won, which will expire, but more than that, she will try to show that the level presented in France can be maintained.

“I work hard, every day, to have that consistency, that constancy. I think I’ve been performing well all season. I’ve had interesting results on clay, grass and hard court. I’ve been in the top 100 for almost a year now. I think that this shows this constancy within the circuit. I will work hard to continue evolving, regardless of the surface”, he said.

“The women’s circuit, in particular, is well balanced. I could say that there are 50 girls who can win the main tournaments. I, particularly, think this is excellent for the public, for the development of the sport as a whole, since there is more representation,” he noted.

It is an audience that is still getting used to tennis without Serena Williams, an American considered by many to be the greatest tennis player in history, who retired last year. Swiatek is excellent and, at the age of 22, he has already collected four Grand Slam titles. But her duel with Bia had many empty chairs, which was not seen in the men’s semifinals.

There is an ongoing renewal movement. Aryna Sabalenka, 25, from Belarus, and Elena Rybakina, 23, from Kazakhstan, have also been performing at a very high level. Beatriz Haddad Maia, 27, took a little longer to reach the “top 10”, but she is there. And she wants to make noise beyond her excellent campaign at Roland Garros.

“I feel the women’s circuit is in full evolution, the players are more and more complete, competing at a high level on all surfaces. The serve has improved a lot. Most girls also return the serve very well, there are variations. happy to be experiencing this moment in women’s tennis.”