“Imagine if we had to play five sets,” After recording the longest match of the year with Beatriz Haddad Maia, Magda Linette strikes back at WTA critics with a sarcastic jab

The players fought for three hours and 42 minutes before the winner was decided.

“Imagine if we had to play five sets,” After recording the longest match of the year with Beatriz Haddad Maia, Magda Linette strikes back at WTA critics with a sarcastic jab

Magda Linette (Image via Imago)

Poland’s tennis star Magda Linette took a jab at WTA critics after she was involved in the longest match of the year with Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia. 

As the two players locked horns in the pre-quarterfinal match at the Abu Dhabi Open, the match went on for almost four overs before the winner was decided. Both players fought too hard to endure; their opponent has to earn every point. 

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Although Linette lost the match after a grueling battle that went for three hours and 42 minutes, the Polish looked pretty happy with the show they put on the court. Linette also saw this as an opportunity to take a jab at the critics. After the match was done and dusted, the Polish ace took to X to hit back. 

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Linette said that fans should imagine what would happen if WTA players were asked to play best-of-five sets instead of the current best-of-three. 

Now, imagine if we had to play five sets.
Magda Linette posted on X.

Beatriz Haddad Maia emerges victorious against Magda Linette

In the end of the match, Beatriz Haddad Maia managed to beat Magda Linette after a long battle of three hours and 42 minutes. 

Beatriz-Haddad-Maia
Beatriz Haddad Maia (Image via Imago)

The first two sets were tough contests for the Brazilian, as she had to play a tiebreaker in both sets. While she managed to win the first one, Maia could not save the second set.

After her win in the first set, Haddad Maia made quite a few errors in the second set, and hence Magda Linette managed to level the scores by clinching it. However, the Brazilian came all guns blazing in the third set as Beatriz Haddad Maia lost only one game in the decider. After the win, she talked about how her never-give-up attitude helps in such tight matches. 

I think my team needs to take care of their heart. Sometimes tennis, it's not easy to manage the emotions. In the tiebreak, I was a little bit frustrated, and that caused another set. But there is one quality for me that is very important, and it's that I never give up and I always try one more time.
Beatriz Haddad Maia said after the win. (H/T: WTA)

Notably, this was the longest match of this season so far. Prior to this, the longest match of this year was Anastasia Potapova‘s 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-4 victory over Veronika Kudermetova in the Brisbane third round at 3 hours and 26 minutes.

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