SHARE
COPY LINK

BELINDA BENCIC

Swiss teen Bencic claims second title in Toronto

Swiss teen Belinda Bencic outlasted Simona Halep to win Sunday's WTA Rogers Cup tennis final in Toronto when the Romanian second seed retired trailing 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (4/7), 3-0.

Swiss teen Bencic claims second title in Toronto
Bencic kisses trophy after win in Canada. Photo: Geoff Robins/AFP

Bencic, who upset world number one Serena Williams in the semifinals, broke twice to open the third set before the effort of battling in extreme heat and humidity proved more than Halep could take.
   
The Swiss 18-year-old has won 21 of her last 25 matches and defeated four top-10 foes this week, improving to 6-1 this year against such high-ranked rivals.
   
It was the second career WTA crown for Bencic, whose first came in June at Eastbourne, and it capped an impressive week in which she defeated six Grand Slam finalists — Eugenie Bouchard, Caroline Wozniacki, Sabine Lisicki, Ana Ivanovic, Halep and Williams, winner of the past four Grand Slam events in a row.
   
Bencic will jump to 12th in the world rankings after starting the week 20th, improving her position for the US Open, the year's final Grand Slam event that starts August 31st in New York.
   
Halep and Bencic exchanged breaks over the first five games of the match before Bencic held for a 4-2 edge.
   
The 18-year-old double faulted to surrender an equalising break in the eighth game as the two battled into the tie-breaker.
   
Halep, who had her left leg treated in the final changeover before the tie-breaker, seized a 4-1 lead but Bencic fought back to win six of the last seven points to claim the first set, the last when Halep netted a forehand.
   
After an early exchange of breaks in the second set, Bencic broke for a 4-2 lead and Halep, taking treatment for the extreme heat at humidity, seemed near the end.
   
But she broke back to 4-3 and answered when Bencic broke for a 5-3 edge, breaking back again at love when the Swiss was serving for the match to pull within 5-4.
   
Halep held and broke again for a 6-5 lead and then it was her turn to serve for the set, but Bencic broke back to force the second tie-breaker.
   
Winning six points of seven, Halep seized a 6-2 edge and rallied from a weak stretch for the third match in a row to level matters.
   
But Halep, who beat Bencic in straight sets at Wimbledon a year ago in their only prior meeting, did not have a second wind and Bencic dominated her twice in service games before Halep called it quits, only her fourth loss in
32 hardcourt starts in 2015.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

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.”
 

SHOW COMMENTS