Haddad Maia vs Kessler: Cleveland Final Analysis (WTA 250)

Serves to the forehand and long rallies played a big role in Kessler's first career WTA Tour title

credit: Australian Open twitter

McCartney Kessler (WTA #100) recovered from the loss of a one-sided first set to defeat top-seed Beatriz Haddad Maia (WTA #23) in the Tennis in the Land final and capture her first WTA Tour title.

Kessler arrived in Cleveland with 30 wins on the season and 3 titles at 3 different levels (WTA 125 Puerto Vallarta, ITF W100 Landisville and ITF W75 Rome). The most recent triumph in Landisville, two weeks ago, secured her entry into the Top-100. Now, Kessler was only missing main draw wins on the WTA Tour. Her record stood at 1-6, with the only victory achieved in round 1 of the Australian Open.

But everything changed in Cleveland. As Kessler battled through 4 three-set matches, including comebacks from a set down against seeds Haddad Maia (1), Xinyu Wang (4) and Anastasia Potapova (5), she grabbed a handful of wins to complete a breakthrough week.

The early stages of the Cleveland final were dominated by Haddad Maia. Her lefty serve was giving Kessler all kinds of trouble, especially on backhand returns. In set 1, Haddad Maia made 86% of 1st serves, 41% of which were not returned, and won all 8 points serving to Kessler’s backhand.

Kessler was averaging a double fault per serve game and she coughed up another one when facing break point in the opening game of the second set. Up a set and a break after winning 7 of the first 8 games, Haddad Maia had all the momentum. But she played a loose serve game and the match changed after that.

At 6-1 1-0, Haddad Maia delivered 2 Deuce side double faults and she lost 2 AD side points after opting to serve to Kessler’s forehand (Haddad Maia was 10-for-10 in AD side points when serving to Kessler’s backhand during the first 2 sets!).

Levelling at 1-1 provided Kessler an enormous confidence boost. She took the second set with a 6-game run as her serve and groundstrokes found an extra gear (8-0 advantage in unreturned serves; 17-12 rallying edge in set 2).

After two short and lopsided sets, the decider finally had both players performing at a similar level. Haddad Maia led 3-1 but Kessler won 3 consecutive long rallies in the 5th game to break back immediately. Then, there were no more break points until 5-5.

With the match approaching its finale, Kessler was rewarded for her courage and aggressiveness while Haddad Maia looked increasingly hesitant. The Brazilian attempted her only serve & volley of the match at 5-5 Deuce, behind a 2nd serve. Kessler punished it with a passing winner and converted the ensuing break point with a forehand winner. Serving for the biggest win of her career, Kessler showed no nerves. She fired 2 more forehand winners on her way to a love hold and a first WTA Tour title.

Return Performance (Forehand)

Sometimes, players second-guess themselves while trying to avoid being predictable. It sure seems that was the case regarding Haddad Maia’s serving choices.

Lefty serves, particularly wide sliders in the AD court, can be one of the most formidable weapons in the game. True to this statement, Haddad Maia was a perfect 9-for-9 (100%) when delivering 1st serves to Kessler’s backhand in the first set. These numbers contrasted with the Brazilian’s 40% win-rate (4/10) on 1st serves to the forehand side.

But in the second set, Haddad Maia opted to serve predominantly to Kessler’s forehand.