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Keystone
She started training at four, had her first sponsor at six, and at 19 she was seventh in the world rankings. And in two weeks Belinda Bencic will win Wimbledon, the columnist knows.
For years they have been calling me the “Monica Kissling of the sports world” on the “blue” sports editorial team. How did that come about?
Well, six years ago I predicted Timea Bacsinszky’s entry into the semi-finals at the French Open. I also predicted Switzerland’s first win in the national ski championships after 1989 in winter 2019/20. And of course I knew days in advance that the Swiss footballers would clearly win against Turkey at Euro 2020.
So you see, dear blue News readers, you can rely on my oracles.
Wimbledon Holy Lawn
So if I claim here and now that Belinda Bencic (WTA 11) will leave the sacred turf of Wimbledon as the Grand Slam winner on Saturday, July 10th, 2021, it certainly has hands and feet, uh, feet.
Don’t worry, I know that Bencic surprisingly lost the Swiss duel at the lawn tournament in Eastbourne yesterday in the round of 16 against Viktorija Golubic (WTA 72). After just over an hour and a half, the 28-year-old from Zurich used her first match point to win (6: 4, 6: 4) against her Fed Cup teammate.
And I also know that Bencic lost the final of the Berlin lawn tournament in three sets against Lyudmila Dmitrijewna Samsonova last Sunday. I also know that the Russian qualifier was only 106th in the world rankings before the tournament.
The game started wonderfully for 24-year-old Bencic. The captivating St. Gallen woman brought the first set dry in just 28 minutes. What does not surprise insiders: lawns are their preferred underlay.
I like to repeat myself: You can rely on my predictions.
The dream of the world number one
Today’s world-class tennis player Belinda Bencic was eleven when Swiss television SRF reported on her for the first time. She says in front of the camera: “I dream of becoming number one in the world.”
Five years later, when I was allowed to interview her myself during a youth tournament, the world’s best tennis junior chose her words more cautiously: “Number one is still a dream. But it’s even more important to make progress every day and focus on the next game. “
Tennis has been Belinda’s great passion since she was a child. It is alleged that father Ivan gave her a tennis racket for the first time at the age of two and a half. At the age of four she begins systematic training.
It quickly becomes clear that a great talent is growing up here. Heinz Günthardt, SRF tennis expert and ex-professional, once said about Bencic as a teenager: “Your skills are reminiscent of those of Martina Hingis. You seldom see such an understanding of the game in such a young athlete. “
But young Belinda also has to learn that failure is part of business. She is also learning not to let that get her down. “At some point I’ll win,” 16-year-old Bencic told me back in Klosters. “Defeat makes me stronger.”
So there are really good reasons for Belinda Bencic to win at Wimbledon.
And then there would be the prediction of the “blue News” oracle, which – admittedly – is not completely infallible: That’s how I predicted Stefanos Tsitsipas’ victory at the French Open in 2021. Then a certain Novak Djokovic won.
There is a regular midday column on workdays at 11:30 am and sometimes not until 12 noon on “blue News” – it revolves around well-known personalities, sometimes also unknown ones – and sometimes there will also be an asterisk.
