Bia Haddad Maia wins the biggest title of her career in China – 10/29/2023 – Sport

Beatriz Haddad Maia, 27, defeated Zheng Qinwen, 21, this Sunday morning (29) and won her third title, the biggest of her career.

In a battle with sets lasting more than an hour each, Bia got the better of the Chinese with partial scores of 7/6 (11) and 7/6 (4) in the final of the WTA Elite Trophy, held in Zhuhai, a kind of final for the second tier from the top of the ranking.

The match, lasting 2 hours and 51 minutes, was the longest straight sets victory of the year on the circuit.

The WTA Elite Trophy is the most important title in Bia’s career so far, and her first over 250. She had already won Nottingham and Birmingham last year, both on grass. His best result in slams came this year, with the semifinals at Roland Garros in June.

Now, the Brazilian depends on what happens at the WTA Finals, but she could end the year back in her best position, 10th, having started the tournament in 19th. The Finals begin this Sunday, in Cancún, Mexico.

This was also the first final of the year for Bia, who lifted the cup without losing sets. She came into the tournament having been defeated in three of the last four matches she has played, since she had an accident in the bathroom of her hotel room in Guadalajara and injured her hands.

But in Zhuhai the São Paulo native found her best form again and beat three top 20 players in a row on her way to the final: Madison Keys (11), Caroline Garcia (20) and Daria Kasatkina (17).

This Sunday’s match was the first meeting between Bia and Zheng Qinwen, 18th in the rankings, who had been undefeated for eight matches in tournaments in China.

“My mentality was very important. I tried to be patient in the moments when things weren’t going the way I wanted. It’s a very special week for me. When I arrived in Asia, I had stitches in my fingers in the first round in Beijing, and now I finish the season with a cup in my hands”, said the Brazilian after the victory.

Patience was an important factor in the match, with highly contested points. The first set had just two breaks of serve, with Zheng taking the lead to score 3-2 and the São Paulo native responding at 4-4.

In the tiebreak, with 24 points, Bia held firm after the Chinese started by nailing a winner on the parallel. The Brazilian opened 5-3, but could only close the partial on her fourth set point.

The second set began with both tennis players losing intensity, something expected after the emotions of the first stage. Zheng lost serve in the third game, but took the Brazilian’s lead at 3-3. Bia served for the championship with 5-4, but the Chinese managed a beautiful backhand to stay in the match.

The Chinese almost took the match to a third set, but Bia counted on her forehand to stop her opponent and take the final to a tiebreak. Taking advantage of the moment of confidence even after Zheng opened 2-0, the São Paulo native won 7 of the last 9 points in the tiebreaker and ended the match with a service winner on her second match point.

“It was a great week. Even on the other side of the world, I felt at home,” said the Brazilian in her acceptance speech.

Alongside Russian Veronika Kudermetova, Bia also lifted the cup in doubles, defeating the number 2 seeds, Miyu Kato, from Japan, and Aldila Sutjiadi, from Indonesia, by 2 sets to 0 (6/3 and 6/3). .

This is the São Paulo native’s sixth doubles title and the first with Kudermetova, a partnership that occupied first place in the group in Zhuhai. Alongside Victoria Azarenka, Bia was champion of the Masters 1000 in Madrid, in May.