French Open star that had Pele assist enjoys greatest run 4 years after drug ban

Beatriz Haddad Maia is having fun with her greatest run at a Grand Slam. Four years in the past, the Brazilian star failed a doping take a look at per week after retiring within the first spherical of French Open qualifying. It was later discovered to be a contamination and Haddad Maia has turned her profession round, reaching the semi-final of the identical event.

The present world No 14, Haddad Maia has loved spectacular outcomes on the WTA Tour however by no means noticed it translate to the Majors till now. 10 months in the past she reached the largest ultimate of her profession on the WTA 1000 in Canada, receiving a message of support from Pele.

“How good it is to see Brazilians conquering more and more in the sport! I want to congratulate @biahaddadmaia for reaching Toronto @wta 1000 final, but above that, for the beautiful journey so far. I’ll be rooting for you today. You are writing a beautiful story,” the late soccer icon tweeted forward of the match.

And she is going to now bid to make her first Grand Slam ultimate after advancing to the semi-final stage for the primary time in her profession. The 27-year-old takes on high seed and defending champion Iga Swiatek in her hardest match but on Thursday.

It comes simply 4 years after Haddad Maia skilled a really totally different French Open. She retired injured throughout her opening match in qualifying and – through the second week of Roland Garros – went to play a Challenger occasion in Bol, Croatia.

After dropping her opening match there to Sara Sorribes Tormo, the Brazilian failed a urine take a look at and the International Tennis Federation introduced in July that she had been provisionally suspended after the pattern was discovered to comprise banned substances.

In February 2020, the ITF then announce that they accepted that the failed medicine take a look at was a results of contamination and gave Haddad Maia a backdated 10-month suspension, permitting her to return to competitors in May of that yr. But with tournaments cancelled for Covid, she couldn’t return till September and had dropped outdoors of the world’s high 1000

Haddad Maia has shocked even herself along with her run in Paris however she now believes she will be able to beat anybody after having fun with a career-best outcome. “I came to Roland Garros, my first goal was to be in the third round. Yeah, I never won before a second round in a Grand Slam. I know that the goal had to be real,” she mentioned.

“I remember when I won the third round, I said, ‘Okay, now I reach another goal.’ Yeah, when we have eight players in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, everybody is playing well, so everybody can believe.”