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BELINDA BENCIC

Swiss teen Bencic makes Eastbourne semifinals

Caroline Wozniacki defeated Germany's Andrea Petkovic 7-5, 6-1 on Thursday to set up an Eastbourne International tennis tournament semifinal against Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic.

Swiss teen Bencic makes Eastbourne semifinals
Bencic, fending off British challenge to advance to semifinals. Photo: AFP

Second seed Wozniacki is bidding for a second trophy at Devonshire Park after winning the pre-Wimbledon tune-up in 2009.
   
The Dane was tested slightly in the opening set but lifted her game in the second to sprint to victory in under 90 minutes, with 10th seed Petkovic broken seven times.
   
“It was a tough match, she gets a lot of balls back,” said former number one Wozniacki.
   
Bencic took just under two hours to eliminate the last British challenge of the home week.
   
The number 31, who played a grass-court final this month in the Netherlands, defeated Australian-born Briton Johanna Konta 2-6, 6-0, 6-3.
   
World number 146 Konta came in on a wildcard and turned in the best week of her career as she won three consecutive matches.

The last to do that on the English south coast was Jo Durie 32 years ago.
   
Two of Konta's wins came over WTA number four Ekaterina Makarova and number 20 Garbine Muguruza of Spain.
   
Bencic lost the opening set but changed tactics to get back into the contest.
   
“It was a very difficult match, she's a good player and really made me work,” said Bencic, advised by the mother of former Swiss prodigy Martina Hingis.
   
“We had some great rallies. I didn't play badly in the first set, but I missed on some key points,” said Bencic.
   
“In the second and third I played more aggressively and got in more first serves.
   
“Of course I knew that the crowd was on her side but thanks to the fans who cheered for me. I was fighting on very point.”
   
Bencic survived six aces from Konta and saved ten of a dozen break points against her serve.
   
In the other half of the draw, former champion Agnieszka Radwanska advanced 6-2, 6-2 over Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova.
   
The 2008 champion from Poland, who went out in the first round in three successive editions from 2012-2014, needed just 65 minutes to advance from four breaks of serve.
   
World number 13 Radwanska, seeded ninth, will on Friday face off against Sloane Stephens after the American advanced without hitting a shot when Russian lucky loser opponent Daria Gavrilova withdrew before their quarterfinal with an abdominal strain.
   
Radwanska improved her Eastbourne record to 12-7 as she beat Pironkova for the ninth time in 11 meetings, following up her Nottingham semifinal on grass earlier in June.

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TENNIS

Will Belinda Bencic be the first Swiss woman to win a Grand Slam in 20 years?

No Swiss woman has won a Grand Slam singles title since Martina Hingis captured the 1999 Australian Open, but Belinda Bencic hopes to end that two-decade drought at the US Open.

Will Belinda Bencic be the first Swiss woman to win a Grand Slam in 20 years?
Bencic, seeded 13th, has battled back from 2017 left wrist surgery. Photo: Mike Stobe / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

And with Swiss legend Roger Federer and his three-time Grand Slam-winning countryman Stan Wawrinka ousted in the men's quarter-finals, Bencic has extra motivation entering Thursday's semi-finals at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“This is not a good thing. I'm not happy about this actually,” Bencic said of the Federer and Wawrinka losses. “I'm kind of surprised, like I think everyone is.

“It would be really nice if the boys could also make it to semi-finals but I'm happy I can kind of do it for them and don't let them down.”

This year's showdown at Flushing Meadows is the 83rd Slam since Hingis won the last of her five major singles titles.

Bencic will face Canadian teen 15th seed Bianca Andreescu, a fellow Slam semi debutante, for the first time Thursday at Arthur Ashe Stadium. She's trying to become the first Canadian singles Grand Slam champion.

“That would be pretty awesome,” said Andreescu. “If it happens, then I think I can pave way for many other athletes, the next generation, not only for Canadian tennis but I think for many people.”

Ukraine's fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina meets Serena Williams, seeking her 24th Slam title to match Margaret Court's all-time record, in the other semi-final.

Bencic, seeded 13th, has battled back from 2017 left wrist surgery and other injuries that slowed her career for most of two seasons, winning her third WTA title in February at Dubai.

“She likes to be very aggressive,” Andreescu said. “She has a very good serve. She moves pretty well, too.”

The is Bencic's deepest Slam run, surpassing her 2014 US Open debut last-eight appearance, but it comes after having had to battle adversity.

“It's there like a dream always. Even when you are playing bad, you want to come back to this feeling. I think that's the motivation enough to keep going,” Bencic said.

“For sure being number one in the world or winning a Grand Slam is always a dream. But I think it's still a long way to that. Of course, I think you can see it there.

“The work and staying in the moment is more important right now. Just taking it step by step.”

Bencic has tried to stay calm on the court but has found that venting her frustrations can help her focus.

“I'm trying to work on my staying emotionally calm in the matches, but I have no trouble focusing after being angry a little bit,” she said.

“I think sometimes I need to get frustrated. I feel like I let it out. I feel a little bit better after. I start to play better I'm more pumped.”

Teen's best yet to come

Andreescu warns she hasn't reached her peak so far at Flushing Meadows.

“I don't think I've played my best tennis,” she said. “I just fought really well with what I had every single day. I think that's the most important thing for me.

“I just try to play every point like it's the last.”

The Canadian hopes to become the fourth first-time Slam champion in five years to win the US Open women's title.

“All of us dream of this moment ever since we're kids, ever since we picked up a racquet,” she said. “I definitely think I've fought really hard to get to this point, so I think I do deserve to be here and hopefully I can go all the way.”
 

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