Beatriz Haddad Maia is fighting hard tonight. Tons of support for both her & Leylah Fernandez. But as always, the Brazilian crowd showed up for Bia. 💚💛💙
Resilient Haddad Maia overcomes Fernandez in left-handed duel at San Diego Open
WTAWednesday, 13 September 2023 at 06:47
Beatriz
Haddad Maia emerged victorious in a lefty battle against Leylah Fernandez with
a score of 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, securing her spot in the second round of the San
Diego Open.
It's a rare
occurrence to witness a match between two left-handed players on the WTA tour,
but in the marquee night match, world No. 20 Beatriz Haddad Maia clashed with
former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez. The Canadian held a 2-1 advantage in
their head-to-head encounters, with their most recent clash occurring just a
month ago at the Montreal Open (Fernandez won 7-5, 5-7, 6-3).
Both
players had disappointing outings at Flushing Meadows, with Fernandez bowing
out in the first round against Ekaterina Aleksandrova and Haddad Maia exiting
in the second round at the hands of Taylor Townsend.
Right from
the start, world No. 74 Fernandez targeted Haddad Maia's backhand and secured
an early break in the third game. However, Haddad Maia couldn't consolidate the
break and also lost her service.
Fernandez
took a 3-2 lead with her serve, but a strong surge from Haddad Maia saw her win
five consecutive games, comfortably sealing the first set 6-2 and taking an
early lead in the second.
This time,
it was Fernandez who broke first, but just like in the first set, she quickly
surrendered her advantage. With both players exchanging breaks, Haddad Maia had
a match point at 5-4 on Fernandez's serve, but her opponent remarkably saved it
and won the next two games to take the set 7-5.
In the
deciding set, the Brazilian secured an early break in the fourth game and then
survived a challenging service game to build a 4-1 lead. With a late break, she
closed out the set and clinched the victory 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.
In the
second round, Haddad Maia will face the young Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, with
whom she has no previous encounters. The 21-year-old, currently ranked world
No. 45, advanced by defeating Magda Linette 6-2, 7-6(5).
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