- Belinda Bencic (WTA 10) is defeated by Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (WTA 5) at the Australian Open in Melbourne 5: 7, 2: 6.
- The East Swiss woman has to accept the two decisive breaks after a double fault.
- This means that the round of 16 means Bencic, as the last Swiss woman “Down Under”, is the final stop.
When the referee issued a warning to Belinda Bencic for obscene language, it was clear that things on the court were not going to the 25-year-old’s taste. She had just given up a service game with a double fault in the 2nd set to make it 1:3. The emotions had to come out.
The verbal outburst made no difference. Sabalenka pushed Bencic away with her punches and acoustically (in the form of screams) and hit one winner after the other (a total of 32), especially in the second set, which was much better from her point of view. After almost an hour and a half, Bencic fended off a first Sabalenka match ball on his own serve, the second then decided the game and Bencic’s knockout round.
Double faults at the beginning for Bencic
It all started so promisingly. Bencic, who was also in the juice, started convincingly against the in-form Sabalenka. She dominated the rallies and remained untouched on her own serve. She was able to take the serve away from her opponent to make it 2-1 – Bencic benefited from 3 double mistakes by Sabalenka. This did not come as a complete surprise: the Belarusian was known for this weakness for a long time, but has improved in this respect.
Shortly thereafter, Bencic brought her opponent back into play with 3 mistakes in a row: The equalizer to 4:4 was a fact with Sabalenka’s first break chance of the game. And with the second opportunity the sentence was through, Bencic made a double mistake at the wrong time (and as later in the second round).
Sabalenka nun gegen Vekic
This means that 24-year-old Sabalenka, who has still not lost a set, has reached the quarter-finals “Down Under” for the first time. There the Croatian Donna Vekic (WTA 64) is waiting, who, thanks to a 6: 2, 1: 6, 6: 3, ended the fairy tale of the only 17-year-old Czech Linda Fruhvirtova (WTA 82).
Bencic, meanwhile, has to give up as the last Swiss woman in Melbourne. Started with great ambitions after their Adelaide title, the second round of 16 out (like their best performance so far in 2016) in Melbourne is a slight disappointment. However, a defeat against Sabalenka, who is now probably the greatest contender for the title, is not a great shame.
