WTA Elite Trophy: Haddad Maia beats Zheng in marathon singles final, follows it with doubles trophy
The Brazilian wins her first singles title of 2023 and is assured of climbing to at least No 11 in the next singles rankings
Beatriz Haddad Maia at the 2023 WTA Elite Trophy
In a match that lasted almost three hours, Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia outlasted local favourite Qinwen Zheng in two tiebreakers to win the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai – the biggest singles title of her career so far. It turned out to be a big Sunday for the 27-year-old, who also won the doubles title later with partner Veronika Kudermetova.
Haddad Maia came from a break down at 4-2 in the first set and saved three set points before winning it in a tiebreaker to complete a 7-6 (11), 7-6 (4) victory.
In the second, the left-hander, Brazil’s most successful female tennis player in five decades, was ahead 3-1 and 5-3 before Zheng fought back to set up another tiebreak.
When I came to Asia, I had stitches in my fingers in the first round of Beijing and now I’m finishing the season with a trophy in my hands
Beatriz Haddad Maia
Haddad Maia proved too strong eventually as she won the second tiebreak as well to finish off the match after a battle that lasted two hours and 52 minutes. This was the longest tour-level straight-sets match of the season.
The loss ended an eight-match winning streak for Zheng, who had won the WTA 500 event in Zhengzhou, China earlier this month.
“Today I was trying to be as aggressive as I was during this week,” Haddad Maia said as quoted by the WTA Tour. “My mentality was very important. I was trying to be patient in the moments things were not going the way that I wanted. It’s a very special week for me. When I came to Asia, I had stitches in my fingers in the first round of Beijing and now I’m finishing the season with a trophy in my hands.”
The Brazilian, who did not drop a set all week in singles, returned to the court shortly after her win and partnered with Kudermetova to beat Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 13 minutes.
Haddad Maia will climb to No 10 or No 11 in the singles rankings, which will be updated after the WTA Finals in Cancun are completed (based on how Barbora Krejcikova, first alternate in Cancun, fares there).
