Belinda Bencic survives three set match on grass at Bett1 Open

Belinda Bencic clenches her first during her opening round match at the Bett1 Open. 

Belinda Bencic had to work hard to transition on the grass courts of the Bett1 Open Monday. The fifth seed got one heck of a challenge from German qualifier Jule Niemeier, who performed well in the opening set, but fell in three sets 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 on Steffi Graff Stadion at the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club. The two recorded 22 combined aces and 18 double faults that made it a competitive and thrilling finish. 

The two made their first appearance in Berlin, but the competition for the qualifier was high on the scale. Niemeier faced the Swiss star, who didn’t do well on the clay courts, but her history on grass allowed her to dictate. Bencic had one good run in Mallorca two years ago, but it would be getting used to it that planned to be center stage. 

Bencic committed two double faults to get the match underway, leading to an early break for the German. Niemeier notched an ace during her service game that ended in a shutout of the fifth seed backing up the break. The fifth seed got her offense into gear to secure the third game and avoid a big gap. The 21-year-old kept things well in place on serve to continue to hold Bencic back. The Swiss star had seven unforced errors and watched Niemeier fire back winners that resulted in another break. 

It was soon 5-1 for the German, who almost had the set closed, but saw the fifth seed secure another hold that extended the set. A key break helped Bencic close the gap to a pair of games against Niemeier after backing up her service. She locked down another victory that put her a game back, but the German, who had a chance to put the set away in the tenth. With Bencic committing errors on the backhand, Niemeier reached two set points and earn the set on a wide return from the Swiss to finish in 35 minutes. 

Bencic fired an ace to open the second set. Though she committed an error, she didn’t give Niemeier another point after a return from her end went long. Niemeier made good of the second game, holding the fifth seed from any chance to break. They remained on serve through four games when in the fifth, Niemeier tried to score a break on Bencic. The Swiss saved two break points to force deuce and saved two more before closing out the game on her terms. 

The two were still deadlocked on service games that saw Bencic with the 5-4 lead and a chance for the break. The German opened the door for the Swiss star, feeling the pressure that led to the fifth seed taking the second in 39 minutes. With a much better output, Bencic opened the decider with a good hold of her forehand groundstrokes. 

Niemeier knew that she had a tough road to walk with the fifth seed and came out of the second with a service to love. Bencic notched one of her own to show her willingness to dictate the pace for as long as possible. After holding in the fifth game, Bencic had a chance to widen the gap on Niemeier in the sixth. The 21-year-old fought back to force deuce, save two more break points before leveling the score once again. 

Bencic didn’t let the loss of a break bother her and took the next step taking a 4-3 stance with the business end of the match approaching. Niemeier had a fend off Bencic in the eighth as the fifth seed gave it her all to make it 5-3 but the German refused to give it to her. The 24-year-old edged Niemeier in the ninth to secure the service and pressure the qualifier to fall apart. The German fought hard to remain firm against Bencic, who tried producing opportunities on deuce, but a late error made it five-all. Bencic continued to lead after 11, but it was all dependent on how Niemeier played out the 12^th and if she could pull off a tiebreak.  

The Swiss star gave herself a good push out front, and despite two returns that landed long and wide, the fifth seed got into place to close out Niemeier. A long return gave Bencic a match point which came on a hit into the net that ended a hard-earned win in 2 hours and 10 minutes. “She was a tough opponent,” said Bencic. “I knew she was capable of great tennis and she’s playing her best right now and I was expecting a tough match.”