Beatriz Haddad Maia wins the 2022 Nottingham Open title
The 2022 Nottingham Open final saw Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil beat Alison Riske in the final on Sunday. Earlier, number six seed Riske had managed to reach her 13th WTA Tour final of her career with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland. However, she fell to Haddad Maia in three sets. Here's more.
World number 48 Haddad Maia has won her first WTA singles title on Sunday. She had managed to reach just one WTA final in the past. Back then, she finished as a runner-up to Jelena Ostapenko at 2017 Seoul. Notably, Haddad Maia had become the second Brazilian woman to reach a WTA singles final this season, following Laura Pigossi (Bogota).
As per Opta, on Saturday, Beatriz Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian female player to reach a WTA-level final on grass since Maria Bueno back in 1968 in Chestnut Hill. She is now the second Brazilian female player to win a title on grass in the Open Era after Maria Bueno in 1968 (Eastbourne vs Judy Tegart and Essex vs Margaret Court).
Haddad Maia has a 29-12 win-loss record in 2022. Her opponent Riske has now has a win-loss record of 16-11. In the recently concluded French Open, Riske was defeated in the second round by eventual winner Iga Swiatek. Meanwhile, Haddad Maia also lost in the second round against Kaia Kanepi. This was the first meeting between Riske and Haddad Maia.
In the round of 32, Haddad Maia beat Wang Qiang 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. In the round of 16, she overcame Yuriko Miyazaki 6-2, 7-6. She beat number one seed Maria Sakkari 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in the quarters. In the semis, she led against Tereza Martincova 6-3, 4-1 before the latter retired with an injury. And now she beat Riske 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Riske served five aces compared two two from Haddad Maia., who even had six double faults. Both players won 13 games each but Haddad Maia sealed more points (92).
