Tennis-Haddad Maia becomes first Brazilian woman to reach French Open last 16 in 44 years

FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Italian Open - Foro Italico, Rome, Italy - May 16, 2023 Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in action during her quarter final match against Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

(Reuters) - Beatriz Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian woman in 44 years to reach the last 16 of the French Open with a 5-7 6-4 7-5 victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova at Roland Garros on Saturday.

The 14th seed received plenty of vocal support from the stands as she emulated the 1978 and 1979 feat of Patricia Medrado.