Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship 2019: Belinda Bencic pulls off another upset, beats Simona Halep
Belinda Bencic was back and better than ever at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships Thursday night. After a huge fight on Wednesday, the Swiss star put together another one to defeat world number two Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 on center court.
It was Bencic's second victory over a top ten player in a row, as she once again came back from the brink to stun her higher-ranked opponent.
This match marked the third meeting and the first in four years between the two players. Ever since their title bout in Toronto back in 2015, when Bencic had moved into the top ten, things haven’t been the same for the Swiss star.
She has struggled with injuries and loss of form for the better part of the last two years, and this run in Dubai is her best performance in a while.
Wednesday’s amazing fight with Aryna Sabalenka, where she saved six match points, could have been a turning point for her. It gave her the confidence that she could come back from any situation, and that helped her greatly today.
Bencic started the match by breaking Halep's serve, and her game seemed to be clicking. But serving at 1-0, the 21-year-old had to go on the defensive as the Romanian saved game point to force deuce. She then prevented Bencic from putting it away three times, but a fourth was not possible as the Swiss star consolidated for a 2-0 lead.
She continued fighting for every point and Halep committed a double fault to face break point again, which she saved with a crosscourt winner. Halep then managed to score an ace followed by an error from Bencic to get a game on the board for the first time in 16 minutes, eliciting a sigh of relief from the crowd.
With the third game lasting eight minutes, the world number two knew that she was going to have to find another gear to turn things around. Fortunately for her she earned a key break that leveled the score at 2-2.
With Halep on a three-game winning streak, Bencic called for a chat with her father and coach to try and regain the initiative.
She evened the score in the sixth game but a sudden surge from Halep gave her a hold and a break. With a 5-3 lead for the Romanian, she stepped up to serve for the set but fell behind with Bencic fighting to stay in it.
An error on her second break point fell slightly long of the baseline, causing the 21-year-old to swing her racket in anger. But Halep committed her fifth double of the set to go down break point again, and third time was the charm as Bencic stayed focused during a rally before she nailed a forehand winner.
A chance to push the set deep was foiled by Bencic's service game in the 10th game as she committed too many errors. That gave Halep plenty of breathing room, winning free points that soon led to her clinching the set in 47 minutes.
While Halep's second serve was nowhere near good enough to dominate, her 15 winners and low unforced errors assisted in her keeping Bencic at bay.
The first game of the second set looked to be going Halep’s way with Bencic putting too much power on the ball on the return. But after a sixth double fault from the Romanian, Bencic forced her opponent to make even more mistakes which gave her the break.
Halep struck with a break back before consolidating a hold in the third to take the lead. When it looked as if the match would run away from her, Bencic forced a key hold to remain deadlocked with the Romanian.
They remained in a tight race through the next four games with Halep holding serve and hunting down chances for the break each time. But Bencic refused to let up in the sixth and eighth games, holding serve despite the enormous pressure she was being put under.
She was rewarded with a break in the ninth game, which gave her a chance to serve for the set. Bencic gained two set points before watching another shot from Halep land long, making it another three-setter for the Swiss star.
Halep had another terrible opening serve to start the third as she made three double faults with Bencic breathing down her neck. The Swiss secured the break and put on a great performance in the second game that gave her a short lead.
A double break was soon in the hands of the 21-year-old, who stayed calm in what was a shocking turn of events. Halep somehow broke back once, ending the winning streak of Bencic's, before getting a hold to get to within one game of the Swiss. But that wasn’t enough to stop the world number 45, who was on a mission to continue playing at her finest.
She held in the sixth before gaining another break that saw Halep’s tournament hopes fading away. The match was in the hands of Bencic, who served for the match in the 8th game but faced a surging fight from the Romanian.
A failed challenge on one of her returns gave Bencic match point, but Halep saved it line-painting winner. The battle at deuce was one with mistakes being made on both sides. After five break points, Bencic had a third match point in hand and this time Halep's forehand landed out, right in front of the 21-year-old, ending the match in 2 hours and 17 minutes.
“It was a tough battle yesterday and a tough battle today so I couldn’t be happier,” said Bencic after the match. “I’m really happy with the way I fought.”
Halep’s downfall came on the second serve that was below 40 percent, plus she had just too many unforced errors - 46 - that gave Bencic the chance to progress. The Swiss awaits the winner between Elina Svitolina and Carla Suarez Navarro in a Friday night semifinal.