Canadian Open 2022: Belinda Bencic vs Serena Williams preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (12) Belinda Bencic vs Serena Williams
Tournament: Canadian Open 2022
Date: August 10, 2022
Round: Second Round (Round of 32)
Venue: Toronto, Canada
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $2,697,250
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - Sportsnet, TVA Sports | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Sports 18
Belinda Bencic vs Serena Williams preview
Twelfth seed Belinda Bencic will square off against former World No. 1 Serena Williams in the second round of the Canadian Open on Wednesday.
Bencic has had a solid season so far, amassing 28 wins from 41 matches, including a title-winning run at the Charleston Open. She also scored a runner-up finish at the bett1open in Berlin and reached the semifinals in Miami.
The Swiss entered Toronto on the back of a first-round exit at Wimbledon and a quarterfinal finish at the Ladies Open Lausanne. She was ousted by Qiang Wang at the All England Club and Petra Martic at the Tennis Club Stade-Lausanne.
The 25-year-old began her campaign in Toronto with a comprehensive 6-4, 6-2 win over Tereza Martincova in the first round.
Belinda Bencic beats Tereza Martincova 6-4 6-2 and reserves herself a spot into the 2nd round in Toronto.
She'll face Serena Williams.
H2H 2-1 for Serena, but Belinda won her previous meeting in Toronto 3-6 7-5 6-4 https://t.co/lCzxkN7JLS
Williams has only played two matches this season. The American returned to the tour at the Wimbledon Championships in June. She put up a fight against Harmony Tan in the first round but ended up losing in a third-set super tie-break.
However, the 40-year-old got back to winning ways with a hard-fought 6-3, 6-4 victory over Nuria Parrizas-Diaz in the first round in Toronto.
@serenawilliams comes through a tough test in Toronto to advance to Round 2!Another year, another Serena win 🙌
🇺🇸 @serenawilliams comes through a tough test in Toronto to advance to Round 2!
#NBO22 https://t.co/PGUY5sX10k
Belinda Bencic vs Serena Williams head-to-head
Williams leads the head-to-head against Bencic 2-1. She defeated the Swiss in their previous meeting at the 2017 Australian Open in straight sets.
Belinda Bencic vs Serena Williams odds
*Odds will be added when available*
Belinda Bencic vs Serena Williams prediction
Bencic will be the favorite heading into the contest, considering her consistent form this season. The Swiss would have been satisfied with her serving display in the previous match. She won 78% of her first-serve points and held her serve throughout the contest.
Bencic has made positive adjustments to her game this season. She constructs points extremely well from the baseline and has improved her decision-making skills, movement, and accuracy off her groundstrokes.
Williams played extremely well in her first-round match against Parrizas-Diaz, considering it was only her second of the season. She slammed seven aces and saved seven out of eight break points. Bencic, however, will present a sterner challenge.
With Williams announcing her impending retirement on Tuesday, she will be determined to make the most of her remaining matches. With the crowd firmly on her side, Williams could just roll back the years and produce another memorable performance to progress further in Toronto.
Pick: Williams to win in three sets.