It was not an easy day for Belinda Bencic at the Australian Open Tuesday. Having a lot of problems with maintaining a strong offense, the Swiss star had to work hard at 1573 Arena to defeat Lauren Davis 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 at Melbourne Park. Bencic suffered a dozen double faults but nailed down 36 winners that got her out of a rough start.
The two met for the first time in five years with the Swiss taking down the American in their last battle. After getting a late start to singles action in Australia, the 11th seed went down hard against Sorana Cirstea who had her best foot forward on her way to earning the upset at the Grampians Trophy tournament. With the warm-up round wasted, the Swiss star in her eighth appearance looked to make it three against Davis, who had yet to record a win in not only this season but since March 3 of last year.
The 11th seed came out rusty from the start with a double fault and errors that handed Davis the break. The second was another fight with Bencic getting lucky with a long ball from the American that brought them to deuce. After three breaks, Bencic secured the victory on the break as double faults increased from Davis’ end. The Swiss star consolidated the break with a win in the third.
She and Davis were into another long rally that went 25 shots with the score locked at two-all. Davis consolidated the hold of serve with a break of Bencic taking a 3-2 lead with pressure making its mark. Davis got into trouble on her serve, committing another pair of double faults that brought them to deuce once more. Bencic broke back to level things once more, biding her time to dictate.
Though it took another fight on deuce, the Swiss star waited for her moment to strike, scoring the victory on the second break. Bencic added a break in the eighth to serve for the set with a two-game buffer in place. The 11th seed committed errors from the first service that put her in a tight spot. A save for the Swiss came when Davis blew a breakpoint opportunity to force deuce.
A winner from Bencic handed her set point which she finished with an ace to conclude 48 minutes. Ten double faults were recorded by both players which beat up their serve percentages that were below 55 percent. With 34 unforced errors combined, both knew that control on the server had to improve to avoid more battles on deuce.
Davis tried to do that with another 40-0 jump on Bencic but erred three times to force deuce. Despite lost ground, the American served better to hold on through a couple of breaks. She tied a break into her recent success, as Bencic erred during a critical point. She made up for it in the third with a serve to love, executing strong groundstrokes. It became a tug of war for control as each player fought through deuce, making it difficult for either one to gain control.
After seven games, Davis got back the lead showing that her efforts could pay off by any means. She received a medical timeout to take care of blisters that came on her right foot, indicating the movements she had to make thus far. When play resumed, it was Bencic pushing the American while on serve, bringing the score to four-all. Davis scored her second serve to love of the match, getting the important positioning needed to go for the deciding set.
Bencic served the tenth but gave up ground with a sixth double fault and errors that resulted in a loss of the set that lasted 54 minutes. Bencic produced too many unforced errors that took away her moment to extend the match and go for the straight-sets win. With that out the window, the American had her moment to be patient and wait for her chance to strike and put together an upset of the 11th seed.
The first game of the third seed was a long one where it took four breaks before Bencic was the one coming out with the win after 14 minutes. Davis got on the board in the second but the next two games went in favor of the Swiss star who seemed to find her niche. She gained the double break that made it 4-1 for the 11th seed but faltered on Davis’ sudden offensive strength. The 27-year-old had three breakpoints, but let two slip away.
Once again, they were back to deuce until Bencic scored a smashed winner to achieve the AD point. Davis saved one but not a second as a forehand shot went into the net giving Bencic a big 5-1 stand. Davis tried to get another game under her belt but she lost the momentum to keep up. Despite her best efforts, she double-faulted on her last try, giving Bencic the win that took her 2 hours and 27 minutes to accomplish. The two battled through 195 points and many issues until the 11th seed found her moment to run away with it.
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