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In co-comms, Chrissy says Swiatek doesn’t really have a weakness, but Gauff has the second-serve edge and will have to attack her opponent in that aspect. Not for now though, the challenger winning a point with a lovely stop-volley and the champion holding to 15.
And play, Swiatek to serve.
If Switaek loses today, she also loses her no1 ranking to Sabalenka – on which point, if you’re a regular reader and you’ve not wondered how Calv Betton analyses the match-up, you should be doing so here it is: “Swiatek will tonk Gauff cos she always does”. Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the best explanation, and Swiatek is 6-0 in the head-to-head, has mainly won easily, and knows to target the forehand.
Tangentially, if there was a better album than this in 2022, I didn’t hear it. Seriously, wade in and you disagree, come at me.
Here come out players, both of them with headphones. Can someone please ask what tunes they’ve got going on.
I can’t lie, I thought we’d seen the last of that Ons – she seemed to lose the faith after losing the second set, and couldn’t adjust when Haddad Maia started reading her drops. I’m sure she’ll be stronger on the grass at Wimbledon, but will be bothered by her collapse in the decider – and I hate to say it but make no mistake, that’s what it was.
Coming up next: Iga Swiatek [1] v Coco Gauff [6]. Don’t mind if we do!
“She’s a very nice person,” Haddad Maia says of Jabeur, adding that they know each other and she represents the women’s game so well. She believed in her body, didn’t mind playing a long game, and off she goes to prepare for her semi! What an achievement! This is the beauty of sport right here, two huge competitors battling then sharing love, and one of them living the greatest day of her life. Magic.
Haddad Maia claps when told she’s the first Brazilian woman to reach a semi in the open era, then takes a deep breath when asked how she managed to recover after such a long match in the last 16. She thanks the crowd, especially the Brazilians, then says in majors you get a day off and her amazing team worked on her body, but this is tennis, they work all year to be ready for this, and Jabeur is one of the best players in the world even on clay, so she’s very proud of herself and her team.
Beatriz Haddad Maia [14] beats Ons Jabeur [7] 3-6 7-6(5) 6-1!
Jabeur swipes long, Haddad Maia can barely believe what’s happened, and her vanquished opponent comes around the net to give her a long, deep hug that says so much. It’s Haddad Maia’s day, she reaches her first major semi by coming from a set down for the third time in the tournament, and will face Gauff or Swiatek next.
Oh Ons. She nets a backhand that gives Haddad Maia 0-30 and who saw this coming after the first set? And oh dear oh dear, stood mid-court, Jabeur nets a forehand which means she faces three match points! Can Haddad Maia embrace the tension? This the moment of her life!
It’s so great to see a player come of age, and Haddad Maia, now 27, has left it late but looks at one with her game and though this is her first Slam quarter, I doubt it’s her last. Meantime, Jabeur fights her way to 30-all then smites a forehand return that yields break point … only to play a poor backhand which hands her opponent deuce. So the Tunisian goes again, taking command of the next point and Haddad Maia defends well only to botch her forehand as soon as she gets the chance to hit a winner … then Jabeur does exactly the same and is furious! Rightly so, a couple of those gets were very serious, the forehand she missed from mid-court, er, not. This is such a fun match now, both players hitting their highest level at its crucial juncture: Jabeur misses another couple of chances to break, then after Haddad Maia hits a lovely backhand for advantage, saves herself via forehand. No matter: Haddad Maia hangs tough, properly having a word with herself before serving at game point, and when Jabeur nets a backhand return, she’s a game away! Haddad Maia 3-6 7-6(5) 5-1 Jabeur
Another poor drop allows Haddad Maia to make 0-15 – maybe Jabeur should just forget that shot because it’s costing more than it’s gaining – and shonuff the big shots get her 30-15, then another drop is easily picked up for 30-all. So Jabeur clatters down what looks like an ace, but the umpire comes down to rule otherwise, then a forehand drops long and Haddad Maia has a point for 4-1 and a third consecutive break! She finds a lovely length on the forehand too, then of course as I type that sends one long at here comes another deuce, Haddad Maia landing a return on the line that’s good enough for advantage … saved by Jabeur, who saves another, then on deuce kicks away a return because she thinks the serve was out … which it wasn’t! What on earth?! Oh Ons! Oh mate! So Haddad Maia sticks a backhand onto the baseline …. when it comes back cuts a tremendous forehand cross-court onto the sideline … and Jabeur nets! She’s got her double-break back and leads 4-1 in the decider!
A return onto the line, Haddad Maia goes long, and has Jabeur relocated her moxie just in time? 3-1 in the decider…
Jabeur, though, may be playing off memory but also knows how to compete, and she makes 30-all then pastes a glorious forehand onto the sideline for a break point she knows she needs to take. Here it comes…
I said this earlier, but against Sorribes Tormo, Haddad Maia hit a purple patch, she might just’ve done likewise here … and has Jabeur gone? On 30-all, a weak serve is annihilated down the line for a winner then another tame delivery is handed similar treatment, and that’s the double break! Beatriz Haddad Maia is flying! Ons Jabeur is floundering!
Haddad Maia is feeling herself now, a terrific love consolidation giving her 2-0. she served really well in that game, finding an ace and the means through which to take command of the other points. Haddad Maia 3-6 7-6(5) 3-0 Jabeur
Haddad Maia has a real chance at this now, mainly, because Jabeur isn’t playing that well – if she does, she wins. But the number 14 seed is doing a pretty good job of either hiding her backhand or hitting it less often, while running down the majority of drops sent in her direction. And shonuff she races to 15-40, and though Jabeur finds an ace onto the sideline in the process of making deuce, when she gets advantage another poor drop is followed by a netted forehand handing Haddad Maia another break point … and this time she takes it, attacking a weak second serve with a backhand, Jabeur sending her response wide! The Brazilian is controlling this match now, 1-0 up in the decider!
Haddad Maia wins the second set to level the match against Jabeur at 3-6 7-6(5)!
A serve out wide, a colossal forehand into the opposite corner, and we’ve got ourselves a shoot-out for the semis!
Jabeur saves the first after a net-cord means all Haddad Maia can do bunt a ball back into play for the inevitable clear-up … then the second with another big forehand that she gives more than it needed; it clips the sideline. One more set point, this one on the Brazilian’s serve…
Haddad Maia restores her double mini-break, reading a forehand cross-court to guide a fine backhand winner down the line … but at 5-2, a double fault makes it tight again, then Jabeur opens the court only to plant a forehand long though she makes like it’s in! Three set points to the Brazilian!
Haddad Maia is reading the drops now, racing in to retrieve one and earning herself a mini-break at 2-0 in the process. And have a look! Out of nowhere, a forehand from centre onto the sideline makes it 3-0 … then she immediately sacrifices half her advantage by patting into the net from a yard away. Haddad Maia 3-6 6-6 (3-1) Jabeur
If Haddad Maia loses here, that’ll be the shot she rues, and Jabeur eventually holds – but both players are struggling with their second serves. Whoever has to hit fewer will have a good shot at the breaker we’re about to enjoy.
Oh Beatriz! Coming right in to attack a second serve, she’s got the half the court at which to aim by the time a weak delivery clambers over the net … but she swipes wide! What a chance that was!
Haddad Maia makes 15-30 then reads a drop … only to lift her backhand beyond the baseline … but then a backhand winner down the line raises set point!
You can see Ons upping it, and a big forehand is gettable, but Haddad Maia isn’t quite quick enough – of thought or of foot – to dig it out. Trouble, because next she overhits a forehand, closing to 15-30 when Jabeur does similarly … but when a backhand is swiped wide, it means two break points, the first of the set. So facing a second serve, Ons comes in, only to go long when given a chance to attack, then Haddad Maia finds the forehands she needs to make deuce. Well done her, it looked like that moment at which the better player does the necessary, but she rushes through deuce, guaranteeing herself a breaker. Haddad Maia 3-6 6-5 Jabeur
Jabeur sprints through a third straight love hold, sealing the deal with her fifth ace, and Haddad Maia must now go again, sooner than she’d have hoped. Jabeur leads 6-3 5-5.
A forehand get from Jabeur incites the error from Haddad Maia and makes 15-all, then at 30-all a double – that second serve was extremely tentative – ratchets up the pressure. Haddad Maia badly needs to land her first delivery now … and she does, then Jabeur misses with a drop, her fourth such oversight in a row; 40-30. Then, sent to the corner, Jabeur digs out a superb forehand, cross-court, but at the net, Haddad Maia watches it really well to put away the volley that gives her 5-4 in set two.
Love hold for Jabeur, her second in a row, and I’d expect her to attack Haddad Maia’s serve now, seeking to get this match did in the next 10 minutes or so.
A terrific forehand, pulled cross at the last second with Haddad Maia expecting line, gives Jabeur 15-30, and you do wonder if at some point she’ll produce a couple of winners in close proximity that will let her seal the match. Well, maybe – but not now, Haddad Maia closing out thanks to three consecutive errors, and we’re yet to have a break point in this set. Haddad Maia 3-6 4-3 Jabeur
Jabeur defends then switches momentum with a forehand into the corner, setting up a backhand winner that is both cute and acute. She holds easily and is serving much better now – but so is Haddad Maia.
So far this is a more usual set, comfortable holds more common than breaks or breaking opportunities – though we’ve yet to reach the elusive state of both players playing well simultaneously. Jabeur holds then finds a very nice forehand for 30-15, a return into the body enough for 30-all; can Haddad Maia respond? Yes she can, sealing the game with a high-kicking ace, and she’s playing with reasonable authority now. Haddad Maia 3-6 3-2 Jabeur
Oh yes! Haddad Maia, sent to the forehand corner, squash-shots a gorgeous winner down the line when cross-court looked her only feasible option. She holds to 15 and leads 2-1 in set two, Jabeur by one set to love.
In other news, the eyes here – majestic.
A hold each to begin set two, both of them relatively routine. I do, though, have to say that if Jabeur goes on to win, I can’t see how she beats Gauff, never mind Swiatek, unless she plays a whole lot better than this. Haddad Maia 3-6 1-1 Jabeur
Jabeur takes the first set against Haddad Maia 6-3!
More of the same from Jabeur, good shots and poor ones, but at 30-all she clouts an ace down the middle, then steps in behind another excellent delivery to unleash a booming forehand into the corner, and set one is in the books. Both players have constructed some very good points, and some dross.
Lovely from Ons, who finds a fine forehand, whipped towards the corner, that gives her 15-40, then attacks a second serve, drilling a backhand return onto the baseline, which facilitates the clean-up into the opposite corner. She leads 5-3 and will now serve for the set, but still – she’s not playing that well, meaning Haddad Maia is far from out of things.
Also going on…
Down 30-40, Jabeur hooks a forehand cross-court that looks out, but Haddad Maia confirms it was in, then runs down a forehand down the line, returns it with interest, and cleans up for another break point … which she takes at the net, reading a drop to make it 3-4. Currently, both players are producing moments but struggling for consistency.
Talking of tennis docs, has anyone seen the Becker series? I’ve not got to it yet but I will – him winning Wimbledon at 17, then doing it again the next year, is up there with the greatest sporting achievements of my lifetime. Anyhow, Haddad Maia holds for 2-4.
Haddad Maia makes 15-40 but stepping into a second serve – the correct play – she nets, then swipes a forehand down the line just wide with a lot of court at which to aim. Jabeur then unfurls forehands of her own, closing out for 4-1, and though this has been a tight set (of tennis), it looks to be heading to the favourite.
It’s ridiculous how empty Chatrier is; you don’t pay for the theatre and turn up at the interval, or buy a car then lob off its back wheels. And those with better things to do are missing a fun exchange of drops, Jabeiur hitting one on deuce that earns her another break point. Haddad Maia, though, bangs a serve out wide before sticking a forehand into the opposite corner – very nice. Not, though, anywhere near as very nice as Jabeur chasing one over the forehand side, stretching, and curling a majestic, oblique winner cross-court that dips over the net. She didn’t find that angle, she invented it, and this time she converts the advantage so thats three breaks in a row and a 3-1 lead.
Yesterday I was talking about BBC’s God of Tennis series, which is not always slick but totally worth your time – the archive footage, in particular, is wondrous. Exhibit A:
A lovely chop floats over the next and dies; Jabeur has such eye and feel, just an absolutely beautiful tenniser. But again, Haddad Maia works her way to deuce, then a double hands her an opportunity to break back immediately … and she attacks the second serve, sending a forehand into the backhand corner before cleaning up into the forehand! Well played her, and she’s into the match. Haddad Maia 1-2 Jabeur
Jabeur spanks a brace of forehands that earn her 0-30, and already it’s a test for Haddad Maia … and when a return loops onto the sideline, she’s facing three break points in her first-ever service-game in her first-ever major quarter. And though she saves one when a return drops out, when she tries a big forehand, it’s a little long and that’s 2-0 Jabeur.
On 15-0, Jabeur plays a luscious backhand slice drop cross-court – try putting the hyphens in that – which shows just how well she’s feeling things. But Haddad Maia is there too, slamming a forehand pass that earns her her first point of the match and we wind up at deuce as Jo Durie praises Jabeur’s candour in discussing how hard it is to play when she’s on her period, noting that your timing goes a little. Anyhow, after missing an easy ball on advantage she seals the hold for 1-0 and she’s in the match.
And play, Jabeur to serve.
Jabeur beat Haddad Maia in Stuttgart a couple of months ago, saying her plan is to move the Brazilian around. Haddad Maia, meanwhile, played the longest women’s match of the year in the previous round, an absolute belter against Sorribes Tormo. She’s got a really nice touch backed up with some serious power, but I wonder if she’s just a less good version of the same.
“I’m following your French Open updates, tweets Kate Warne, “and all the YouTube links yesterday made me want to share that RG used to have a karaoke booth for the players, circa 2007-2010, all on YT – for example:
Sensational.
And here come our players!
Preamble
Salut! And welcome to Roland-Garros 2023 – day 11! Who will join Karolína Muchová and Aryna Sabalenka; Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in the last four?
As yesterday, we begin with two women’s quarter-finals, and both look tasty in the extreme. This may be the first time Beatriz Haddad Maia has reached this stage of a major, but she’s playing like someone whose penny has dropped. Her patient, powerful, adroit, lefty game game looks in terrific order, and if she hits the level she produced in the second set of her last-16 match against Sara Sorribes Tormo, she has a chance of causing an upset. However Ons Jabeur has already passed the stage she’s currently at, now a fixture at the business end of things, and her combination of guile, hands and hitting looks a potent antidote to what the Brazilian brings.
Second on we’ve a potential classic. Iga Swiatek is the defending French Open champion, the US Open champion and the best player in the world … and Coco Gauff, who she beat in last year’s final, is surging, poised to finally fulfil her potential. If her backhand is working and her forehand is working well enough, she has the game to cause plenty of problems but most importantly of all, the way she’s carrying herself tells you she believes her time is now.
And finally this afternoon we’ve Alexander Zverev, still working his way back after injury, against Tomás Martín Etcheverry. If we’re being real, neither looks a potential winner, but both are hitting it nicely … and obscenely hard. The former has dropped just one set so far this competition and beaten both Francis Tiafoe and Griggzy Dimitrov, while the latter, a clay-court specialist, has yet to concede at all, having seen off Alex De Minaur, Borna Coric and Yoshihito Nishioka.
Or, put another way, we’ve got another terrific day in store. On y va!
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