Author: Barkha Roy
Brazil’s 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia continued her impressive run at Wimbledon with a win over Romania’s Sorana Cîrstea in the third round. Haddad Maia showed her skills and dominance on the grass court, securing a 6-2, 6-2 victory.
Both players showed their skill on the serve, with Haddad Maia and Cîrstea registering five aces each. The Brazilian had a slight advantage in first serve percentage. Haddad Maia had an 80% first serve rate, while Cîrstea had a lower rate of 57%. In terms of hits on the second serve, Haddad Maia maintained the advantage, winning 50% of those points, while Cîrstea managed a 29% hit rate.
Haddad Maia proved more effective at converting break points, taking five of the twelve opportunities. The Brazilian also excelled in reception, winning 36 reception points against 17 for Cîrstea.
Overall, Haddad Maia accumulated 72 points in total, beating Cîrstea’s 50. She secured 12 games over the course of the match, including a maximum sequence of seven consecutive games won and five consecutive points won. In terms of service, Haddad Maia won 36 service points, narrowly beating Cîrstea’s 33. She also won seven service games, while Cîrstea managed to win three.
With this dominant performance, Haddad Maia advances to the next round of Wimbledon, where she will face third seed Elena Rybakina, who defeated UK player Katie Boulter in the wild card in two sets 6-4, 6-1.
Meanwhile, in the doubles, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil had a successful start to the first round of Wimbledon. They beat the Japanese-Spanish duo of Makoto Ninomiya and Cristina Bucșa in a close contest, 6-4, 7-5. Both teams put in competitive performances, with Azarenka and Haddad Maia securing aces and double faults similar to their opponents.
The Belarusian-Brazilian pair showed their strength on serve, winning a higher percentage of points on the first serve. They also took advantage of the break point opportunities, converting four of the eight chances. Azarenka and Haddad Maia emerged victorious, securing 67 points and winning 13 games, while Ninomiya and Bucșa collected 60 points and won nine games.
In another match, French-Brazilian duo Caroline Garcia and Luisa Stefani made an impressive start to the first round of the women’s doubles at Wimbledon, beating American pair Caty McNally and Ashlyn Krueger in two sets. Garcia and Stefani put in a solid performance to secure a 6-3, 7-6 victory.
While McNally and Krueger recorded more aces, the French-Brazilian duo maintained a higher first serve percentage and a better overall winning percentage on their serves. Although the break point opportunities were equal, with both teams converting one in four, Garcia and Stefani dominated in receiving points. Their strong performance took them to 74 points and nine games, while McNally and Krueger managed 64 points and won 13 games.