After earning her first WTA singles title of 2024 in Seoul on Sunday, Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil thanked the nearly 10,000 fans on hand for the final in the South Korean capital.
Haddad Maia, world No. 17, defeated 13th-ranked Russian player Daria Kasatkina 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the Korea Open at Olympic Park Tennis Center. The rally past the top seed gave Haddad Maia her fourth career WTA title and her first since June 2022.
Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil celebrates after winning the women’s singles title at the Korea Open tennis tournament at Olympic Park Tennis Center in Seoul on Sept. 22, 2024. (Yonhap)
Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil celebrates after winning the women’s singles title at the Korea Open tennis tournament at Olympic Park Tennis Center in Seoul on Sept. 22, 2024. (Yonhap)
Haddad Maia dropped the first set in just 26 minutes, unable to put up much of a fight against Kasatkina’s strong serves. But the match turned midway through the second set, as Haddad Maia turned a 3-1 deficit
into a 6-4 win.
Haddad Maia seized control in the third set as her opponent began to fall apart. The Brazilian cruised through the decisive set to finish the match in an hour and 50 minutes.
“I started the match missing a lot of shots. The first set wasn’t good and (Kasatkina) deserved the first set,” Haddad Maia said. “It wasn’t easy in the second set, and it was very windy. I wasn’t feeling good but I knew what I had to do. I felt that I was strong and competitive, and the match could change. I played better at the end of the second set and finished in a better way.”
Haddad Maia said she will always have fond memories of playing in Seoul. She made her first WTA final at the 2017 Korea Open, though she lost to Jelena Ostapenko in three sets then. Haddad Maia then won the Korea Open in her second try, with the tournament having been elevated from a WTA 250, the lowest rung, to a 500.
“I feel this court is special for me. I have great memories,” she said. “I think Asia has a different culture where I reall
y like to learn and I like to explore. It doesn’t matter which country I go. I really like to try things from the city that I’m in.”
Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil poses with the champion’s trophy after winning the women’s singles title at the Korea Open tennis tournament at Olympic Park Tennis Center in Seoul on Sept. 22, 2024. (Yonhap)
Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil poses with the champion’s trophy after winning the women’s singles title at the Korea Open tennis tournament at Olympic Park Tennis Center in Seoul on Sept. 22, 2024. (Yonhap)
With Haddad Maia seemingly on the ropes as she trailed in the second set, the crowd in Seoul started cheering for the Brazilian to mount a comeback. Haddad Maia responded in kind.
“I was feeling that the crowd was with me. It’s very special to have people supporting you,” she said. “I think I had good memories here and also, maybe they have these good memories for me and they are always cheering up for me. It’s a privilege for me to be in this court. It was a very specia
l moment for me.”
Haddad Maia also said she enjoyed playing on the same court that hosted the 1988 Olympic Games. While the court has faced some criticism for being outdated and not being up to the WTA 500 standards, the champion begged to differ.
“I think when you have a stadium where they played an Olympic Games, it’s historic. It’s like a monument,” she said. “It’s so special to play on this court. At least for me, I would keep the stadium like this. It’s very nice to feel the energy.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency