Belinda Bencic had the end game she wanted to close out her second round match at the US Open Wednesday. The 19-year-old Swiss teen took down Germany’s Andrea Petkovic winning 6-3, 6-2 on Court 17 at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center.
The 19-year-old brushed off some of the rust from this season. She survived a tough first round against Samantha Crawford who battled her in three sets before she managed to win. The struggle continued as she faced the German for the second time. The two met during a heated opener of the Fed Cup Playoffs where Bencic pulled off the straight set victory over Petkovic leading Switzerland to an eventual 3-2 win.
With the tournament in its youth, the Swiss teen still had plenty to be worried about as Petkovic did well to get out of a jam in the first set to win her match straight up. The world number 43 would be assured of being the one with plenty of momentum coming into the second round.
Bencic made a statement breaking Petkovic in the first game fighting back on deuce. She added another victory to take control of the opening set. The German tennis star didn’t have her game quite together as the Swiss teen remained well ahead. In an effort to get on the board, Petkovic was trying her best to answer the forehand shots of Bencic but they didn’t come easy. She managed to force deuce with the 19-year-old who racked up three double faults in the game. It was enough for Petkovic to hang in and get the win to sit just two games down.
The German put up another show of competition and gained a second straight holding her end on deuce in the fifth. The double faults continued to rattle the Swiss teen as she notched her fifth. Bencic rallied back with an ace and a winner but came up short with a shot landing wide of the line. Petkovic went after the play twisting her leg in the process. Though she came out okay, the thought of a tie in the set helped her fight on.
Bencic gained a 4-3 lead with the German pushing hard on deuce, when the lead was hers, the teen took off with some control and soon played for the set in the ninth. Bencic trounced on the service of Petkovic handling the returns before a forehanded error ended the set in 44 minutes.
The second went along with Petkovic getting the set started with a service hold followed by Bencic. The two remained on serve through five when the Swiss teen gaining the upper hand in the sixth. She broke the German to take a 4-2 lead and give herself a free chance at jumping toward a match win.
She easily held serve and pressured Petkovic to fall apart in the seventh. The 19-year-old got to match point twice but couldn’t lock it down forcing deuce with the German. The effort to get back control didn’t take long for Bencic who swept the advantage winning on a ball landing wide of the line ending the match in 1 hour and 27 minutes. “It was very tough,” Bencic said about the match. “There were some key moments and I was happy to win.”
With her game becoming well rounded in the final major of the season, Bencic can use that to take on the winner between Johanna Konta and Tsvetana Pironkova in the third round Friday.
Photo by: Jewel Samad/Getty Images
Photo by: Jewel Samad/Getty Images
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