New York: Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil overcame a slow start to defeat No. 15 seed Anna Kalinskaya, 6-3, 6-1 and paved her way to the Round of 16 at the US Open.
The 28-year-old Brazilian, who reached the semifinals at Roland Garros in 2023, took advantage of Kalinskaya’s 25 unforced errors to win the match in 80 minutes in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Playing in her fourth career US Open, Haddad Maia reaches Round 4 at Flushing Meadows for the first time. She will now face former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in Round 4 in what will be their first career head-to-head meeting.
Even before her Saturday night’s match, Haddad Maia was the first Brazilian woman to reach the US Open third round since Tennis Hall of Famer Maria Bueno accomplished the feat in 1976.
Earleir, World No.1 Iga Swiatek eased past 25th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova with a 6-4, 6-2 victory to book her spot in a fourth straight US Open Round of 16.
For her fourth-round match on Monday, Swiatek will face No. 16 seed Liudmila Samsonova, who made quick work in her Round 3 match against American star-on-the-rise Ashlyn Krueger, 6-1, 6-1.
Swiatek owns their head-to-head, 3-0. But, she said in her on-court interview, the next opponent’s style was “fast and flat and, of course, there are no easy matches in the fourth round.”
In other action, the 34-year-old Wozniacki defeated French qualifier Jessika Ponchet 6-3, 6-2 Round of 16.
Wozniacki is the 8th player in the Open Era to reach the US Open Round of 16 at 34 years old or older. She’s the first to do it since Serena Williams in 2020 and joins a fine cadre of women to accomplish the feat which include Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams, according to WTA stats.
Of the seven to previously reach the Round of 16, six reached the quarterfinals: Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Virginia Wade, Serena Williams and Venus Williams
–IANS
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