"I'm very happy and proud that I didn't give up and I think for that I deserve this victory," said Haddad (14th in the world) after beating Spain's Sara Sorribes (132nd) 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 7-5 in 3:51.

The longest women's match at Roland Garros lasted 4:07 and was won by France's Virginie Buisson against compatriot Noëlle van Lottum in the first round in 1995.

"The key was to play all the points, regardless of the score. I told myself that if I was nervous, so was my opponent. And then Novak Djokovic said that he too was nervous at times. So if he is, who am I not to be nervous?" said Haddad.

By entering the court, she had played three and a half hours longer than her opponent who had taken advantage of the forfeit in the third round of one of the favorites for the title, the Kazakh Elena Rybakina (4th).

Haddad thus becomes the first Brazilian to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament since Maria Bueno, at the very beginning of the Open era, in 1968, already in Paris.

Hug between Beatriz Haddad and Sara Sorribes after their marathon match at Roland-Garros, June 5, 2023 © Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP

She will face Wednesday the Tunisian Ons Jabeur (7th) who instead got rid very quietly of the American Bernarda Pera (36th) 6-3, 6-1 in 1h03.

Ruud waits for Rune in quarters

Finalist of Wimbledon and the US Open last year, the 28-year-old, who is still chasing her first Major trophy, had never before gone beyond the knockout stages in Paris.

Last year, the Tunisian was even eliminated as soon as she entered the competition.

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur qualifies for the quarters at Roland Garros, June 5, 2023 © JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP

"It was the only Grand Slam quarter I missed," said Jabeur, who in 2020 became the first Arab player to reach the quarters of a Grand Slam tournament in Australia.

Last year, she even played finals at Wimbledon and the US Open.

"I'm very happy with my performance, the way I played, especially coming back from injury," she said Monday.

She returned to competition in Rome - and lost entry - just before coming to Roland-Garros, after a calf tear that forced her to withdraw in the semifinals in Stuttgart on April 22. In the aftermath, she gave up defending her title in Madrid.

In the men's draw, last year's finalist Casper Ruud (4th) qualified after three sets to zero 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, 7-5 at the expense of Chilean Nicolas Jarry (35th) while the Danish prodigy, Holger Rune (6th), began his match against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo (23rd).

Casper Ruud relishes his success against Chile's Nicolas Jarry at Roland Garros, June 5, 2023 © JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP

World No. 1 and Polish titleholder Iga Swiatek was scheduled to face Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko (66th) in the late afternoon, while the night will pit Germany's Alexander Zverev (27th), who left the Central last year with a serious right ankle injury during his semifinal against Rafael Nadal, against Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov (29th).

© 2023 AFP