– “There were moments when I thought: Should I run from the square?”
The Swiss missed a great opportunity at the US Open, failing in the round of 16 with 3: 6, 3: 6 at Sorana Cirstea (WTA 30). She couldn’t explain why nothing fit.
Published: 09/03/2023, 22:32
What’s the matter? Belinda Bencic produced 32 unforced errors.
Foto: Will Oliver (Keystone)
Tennis is a complicated sport. Anyone who swings the racquet from time to time knows that. One day you hit the ball perfectly, another not at all. Belinda Bencic had such a bad time. The tableau seemed to have opened up for her at the US Open, she was clearly favored against Romanian Sorana Cirstea (WTA 30). He’s looking forward to the quarterfinals against Bencic, said Emil Miske, the coach of Paris finalist Karolina Muchova (10). But then Bencic produced an orgy of mistakes against Cirstea that had rarely been seen from her.
In all, she committed 32 unforced errors in straight sets and conceded six breaks, including four in the second set when her opponent got nervous. But Bencic simply threw away the chance of a turnaround and was eliminated 3:6, 3:6. Even with the backhand, her most solid shot, she put the simplest balls wide by the yard. “I felt like I didn’t play a ball into the field,” she said. “I had a few moments where I thought: should I hit from below? Or should I run off because it’s so bad? I kept trying, but didn’t accomplish much.”
“I felt okay physically, it wasn’t mental either. I just couldn’t get the ball in the field three times.”
Belinda Bencic
You don’t have the feeling that you played tactically wrong. “But I had zero rhythm. I felt okay physically, and I don’t think it was mentally either. I was looking forward to the match, feeling good. Also in the warm-up before the match. It is hard to explain. I just couldn’t get the ball into the field three times, couldn’t find my game throughout the match.” How she should assess that, she cannot say at the moment. It’s still too fresh for that.
At last year’s US Open, Bencic had won against Cirstea in round 2 (6:3, 5:7, 6:2) before she failed at Karolina Pliskova and parted ways with her German coach Sebastian Sachs. And now? Since the French Open, she has been looked after by Slovakian Fed Cup captain Matej Liptak, who enjoys a good reputation in the scene. But he didn’t make any decisive progress either.
Continue with Coach Liptak
At least for the time being, Bencic wants to continue to stick with Liptak: “It was okay with him. I reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and also at the US Open. I played well in Montreal too. I don’t think a change of coach would be the right thing to do now.”
For the first time since Paris 2009 in a Grand Slam quarterfinal: the radiant Sorana Cirstea.
Photo: Will Oliver (EPA)
Bencic was eliminated in New York for the first time in the round of 16. She had previously jumped this hurdle three times: in 2014, at the age of 17, she failed in the quarterfinals against Peng Shuai. In 2019 in the semifinals and in 2021 in the quarterfinals she lost to the eventual winner: Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu. Bencic’s chances of also fulfilling his dream of a Grand Slam title are dwindling. She is now 26. At least her conqueror can encourage her: Cirstea is playing her best tennis at 33 and has reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam in New York for the second time. She did it for the first time in Paris in 2009 when she was 19.
For Bencic, another Grand Slam year comes to a disappointing end. After all, she showed more consistency at the big events in 2023 than in the previous season. She reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open – but no more. If she failed in Melbourne to Aryna Sabalenka and in Wimbledon to Iga Swiatek, two top players, and she was able to take a lot of positive things with her, this end hurts a lot. It’s a missed opportunity.
Continue to San Diego
For Bencic, it’s straight on to the next tournament in San Diego (from September 11th), followed in the weeks after by Guadalajara, Tokyo and Beijing – a tight schedule. “I feel pretty good physically,” she says. “My goal is still to reach the top 8 and make it to the WTA Masters.” She is currently number 14 in the live annual ranking.
What is certain is that the season will end for them with the final tournament of the Billie Jean King Cup in Seville (November 7th to 12th). The Swiss will compete there as defending champions. In the coming weeks and months, Bencic will still have many opportunities to play a little more balls into the field.
More about Belinda BencicSimon Graf is Deputy Head of the sports department and has been reporting on ice hockey and tennis for over 20 years. He studied history and German at the University of Zurich and wrote several sports books. His current one: «Inspiration Federer».More info@SimonGraf1
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2023-09-03 20:32:36
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