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MARTINA HINGIS

Hingis and Bencic propel Swiss into Fed Cup semifinals

Martina Hingis rolled back the years on Sunday as her doubles win alongside Belinda Bencic sealed a 3-2 victory over Germany to put Switzerland in the Fed Cup semifinals for the first time since 1998.

Published: 7 February 2016 20:22 CET
Hingis and Bencic propel Swiss into Fed Cup semifinals
Swiss FedCup tennis team captain Heinz Günthardt takes selfie with (from left) Bencic, Bacsinszky, Viktorija Golubic and Hingis. Photo: DPA/AFP

Teenager Bencic and Hingis, 35, who won her 12th Grand Slam doubles title in last weekend's Australian Open final alongside India's Sania Mirza, needed just over an hour to seal their 6-3, 6-2 win over Germany's Andrea Petkovic and Anna-Lena Groenefeld.
   
“I was cheering them on for the first four matches and then I had to go out there,” said a delighted Hingis after the tie in Leipzig.
   
Bencic won three points at the weekend to secure a semi-final place where the Swiss will take on defending champions Czech Republic, who edged Romania 3-2.
   
The teenager said she was delighted to have the chance to play alongside Hingis for her country.
   
“She did all the great volleys and all the doubles stuff,”  said the 18-year-old, who is ranked 11th in the world for singles, but only 59th for doubles.

“I was just happy I could play with her. I'm not a doubles specialist.” 

Switzerland's captain Heinz Günthardt said the sky is the limit for his team with both Bencic and Hingis in top form.
   
“I have no idea where we can go but I'm excited to find out,” he said.
   
“Martina is one of the best doubles players in the world right now and Belinda is very solid.
   
“This surface is good for Belinda, but we knew she had to play at the top of her game and she did.”
   
Sunday's defeat was tough on Petkovic, who lost the opening rubber to Bencic on Saturday and was then stood down for Sunday's reverse singles when Annika Beck had levelled the tie at 2-2.
   
Beck's 7-5, 6-4 victory over Timea Bacsinszky had given the Germans brief hope before Hingis and Bencic sealed the Swiss win.
   
The 21-year-old Beck had rescued Germany after Angelique Kerber lost to teenager Bencic in Sunday's first singles rubber which had put the Swiss 2-1 up.
   
Just eight days after beating Serena Williams in the Australian Open final, Kerber had few answers as she lost 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to the 18-year-old.
   
It had finished all square on the first day after Bencic, the world number 11, swept past Petkovic, 6-3, 6-4, then Kerber, ranked second in the world, got Germany back on track with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Bacsinszky.

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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.

Published: 5 September 2019 10:21 CEST
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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