- Belinda Bencic (WTA 12) beat Ija Swiatek (WTA 8) at the US Open in a long round of 16 with 7:6, 6:3.
- The Swiss won the first round with a time of 14:12 in the tiebreak. The quick decision alone takes 23 (!) minutes.
- In her third quarterfinal in New York, Bencic will face either Emma Raducano (WTA 150) or Shelby Rogers (WTA 43).
After Belinda Bencic’s Olympic fairy tale in Tokyo, the toenails didn’t have time to grow back, they must have already been gone. The Swiss Women’s Round of 16 at the US Open against Iga Swiatek was not for the faint of heart. The first set in particular made tennis hearts beat faster, especially the Swiss fans after this result.
The first sentence of the superlatives
Bencic got off to a great start, acted hard from the start and played the balls on the field. The 24-year-old managed to take a break in the first match. Later on, Bencic also depressed the accelerator correctly, but Swiatek was able—mainly thanks to her powerful first serve—to prevent another breach in the service.
With the group in mind, Bencic made a few mistakes. With a score of 5: 4, the pole gave a double-fault tie. A little later, the Swiss had to block the first ball at 5:6. However, this should be the only pre-bid to break the epic tie.
- Bencic turns 2:5 into 6:5, but she can’t use the first group ball.
- From a 9:9 point of view, there are 8 small breaks in the chain.
- Bencic hits three more balls in the tiebreak, two of them at the extreme.
- The Olympic champion herself uses the fifth set ball to reach 14:12.
- The short decision alone takes 23 minutes, and the entire round is 84 minutes.
Due to the great effort of the first deal, both Swiatek and Bencic later made more mistakes. With a score of 2:1, the Swiss finally had the only break in the second set. Bencic is no longer giving up this lead. After 2:06, she used her second game ball to reach the quarter-finals – her third in New York.
Now against Raducanu or Rogers
In the last eight, Bencic faces the winner of the match between ambitious teen Emma Raducano of Great Britain and American Shelby Rogers. The quarter-final matches will be played on Wednesday.