It was a hard-earned victory for Beatriz Haddad Maia, who stunned 12th seed Belinda Bencic to reach the semifinals at the National Bank Open (Rogers Cup).
The Brazilian rallied from a set down to score a 2-6 6-3 6-3 victory over her Swiss opponent, saving some of her best tennis for the latter half of the match. After being blitzed by Bencic in the opening set, Haddad Maia regained her composure in the second, winning 80% of points behind her first serve. Additionally, she took advantage of some poor service game by the 2015 champion, capitalizing on two break chances to clinch the second set.
With momentum on her side, Haddad Maia remained aggressive in the final set. Both ladies exchanged breaks to start the decider, but it was the World No.24 who continued her relentless attack to obtain a second break. The Nottingham champion would serve out the match, booking her spot in yet another WTA semifinal this season.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.