New York (USA) – For the first time in her professional career, Beatriz Haddad Maia has won a main draw match at the US Open. Returning to the competition after five seasons, Bia beat Croatian Ana Konjuh, former top 20 and current 117th in the standings, by a 6-0 brace in just 58 minutes of play.

At 26, Bia marks her seventh Grand Slam tournament victory. The 26-year-old from São Paulo and currently world No. 15 has the best ranking of her career and is trying for the first time to reach the third round of singles in a tournament of this size. The last Brazilians to make this campaign were Andrea Vieira and Niege Dias, on clay at Roland Garros in 1989.

Bia’s next opponent in New York will be the Canadian Bianca Andreescu, champion of the tournament in 2019 and the former world number 4, who made her debut beating France’s Harmony Tan by 6/0, 3/6 and 6/1. The Brazilian won the only previous duel against Andreescu, played in 2016, when the Canadian was only 16 years old. Andreescu is currently ranked 48th.

Passed by Bia on Monday, Konjuh is a former world youth ranking leader and reached the quarter-finals of the US Open as a professional in 2016. The Croatian has already undergone four elbow operations and managed to return to the top 100 last year, but another injury, this time to the fibula, forced him to undergo further surgery and miss the game for three months. The Croatian’s last tournament dates back to May, on clay in Strasbourg.

The start of the game was very dominant for Bia, who confirmed her first two service games from scratch and managed to put a lot of pressure on the returns to obtain three consecutive breaks. Winning by 5/0, the Brazilian overturned a 15-40 and closed the set with ‘tire’. Konjuh only scored nine points in the split.

The second set had longer games, so much so that Bia had to escape break points in two of her three service games. But despite the better balance, she continued to prevail in the most important moments and confirmed the quiet victory in straight sets. Bia made it 16-6 on the winners and only fouls 12 to Konjuh’s 21. The Brazilian got six breaks on nine occasions and escaped all five break points she faced in the match.

“I knew I would have to be patient today,” says Bia
“I’m happy with my debut. Ana is a girl who has a very aggressive entry point. And although her ranking is not at her peak, she is a very tough player, who can beat big names”, said Bia, in the square interview at the channel Sports TV.

“The first round is always very difficult. I tried to manage the butterflies in my stomach and I think I was disciplined. I knew that today I had to be patient because sometimes in the first round things don’t work out. don’t go the way we want. I’m happy with our work and what we’re doing. In Grand Slams, every match is very difficult,” added the Brazilian, who also thanked the fans for their support in New York. “It’s the first time I’ve played with so many people here. I’m happy with the public and to be able to represent everyone.”

Unprecedented score for Bia in the elite of the circuit
This is the first time that Bia Haddad Maia has scored a 6/0 double in WTA or Grand Slam tournaments. But in her professional career, she has already achieved ten other times, including one this year during the confrontation against Guatemala, for the Group I of the Billie Jean King Cup. The other nine occasions were in smaller ITF tournaments, with prize pools between $10,000 and $25,000.