Beatriz Haddad Maia was in good spirits despite her 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) semi-final loss to Iga Swiatek at the French Open on Thursday, following the best two weeks of her career.

The 27-year-old, who had never advanced past a grand slam second round, became the first Brazilian woman in 55 years to reach a major semi-final after beating world number seven Ons Jabeur in the quarter-finals.

After failing to extend her remarkable week to reach the final, Beatriz left Roland Garros with a smile.

“Our first goal was to go to the third round,” the world No. 14 said. “We worked very hard, and me and my team deserve and need to be very proud of ourselves, because it’s not easy to be in this stage.

“I think this match and this week will bring me a lot of things to improve, things that we learn to build our game, our mentality.”

The Brazilian’s distinctive resilience was not enough against world No.1 Swiatek.

After a first set dominated by the Pole, Beatriz fought back, forcing a tie-break in the second set, but could not take the match to a decider.

“I was a little bit more emotional in the beginning,” she said. “Playing for the first time in semi-finals against the No. 1 in the world, with a lot of Brazilians there, I couldn’t be very disciplined and concentrated in the things that I had to be, but I did my best.”