The WTA Elite Trophy returns this year with the edition played in Zhuai, and Beatriz Haddad Maia started off with a win against Madison Keys.
It isn't the WTA Finals, but it's still a showdown of some of the best players in the world. We have several great players battling it out at the WTA Elite Trophy event, which is a second-tier WTA Finals tournament, and it started with a bang.
Beatriz Haddad Maia took on Madison Keys in a very interesting match that almost went to three sets. It was a sound two-set victory for the Brazilian, who was superb in the most crucial moments.
The opening set started with an early break for the Brazilian as Keys struggled to find a really nice rhythm. She's one of the streakiest players on Tour, so that wasn't a huge surprise.
Her breaking back and making it 4-4 in the opening set wasn't a huge surprise either, and neither was that she lost her serve once more, down 5-4. Keys was just a bit too eager in the first set, totaling 16 unforced errors compared to only 12 by Haddad Maia.
Quite a few of those came in the last game of the set, and that's why she lost it. The second set basically had the same outcome, although not the same trajectory. The start was balanced from both sides as neither converted an early chance to jump out ahead.
Keys played a far more balanced set of tennis without any egregious errors, but it still came in the set's final game. Much like in the first set, Haddad Maia jumped out to a 40-0 lead on the serve of the American up 5-4 and converted the first match point to win the match.
And that's basically how it went for Keys. Two of the worst games she played all day came in each set down 4-5, resulting in a 6-4, 6-4 win for Haddad Maia, a crucial win to kick-start her 2023 WTA Elite Trophy campaign.
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