Belinda Bencic rallies big in straight sets over Martina Trevisan

Belinda Bencic had her eyes well on every serve during her second-round match at the US Open. 

Belinda Bencic was full of focus on the tennis court that helped moved her forward at the US Open Thursday. The Olympic champion of tennis won nine games in a row before winning her match against Martina Trevisan 6-3, 6-1 on Louis Armstrong Court at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. It was her third straight win over a left-handed player, which did not seem to bother the 11^th seed.  

Bencic’s win over Arantxa Rus was a good stepping stone to prep for another new opponent, who managed to make her first appearance of the tournament count with a win. The Italian got the best of Coco Vandeweghe early in the match before hanging on in the second set to close out the American. With the ability to pull off a late push, Trevisan would have to hope that the reigning Olympic gold medalist gave her that opportunity. The Swiss star made it to the third round in all but one of her visits to New York and with a focus against new players, it would be the start and control of her offense that would determine their fates. 

Trevisan opened service and watched how well Bencic read her shots. The Italian soaked up what her opponent was using and managed to force deuce. It only went a break before the 11^th seed clinched the fourth breakpoint of the game. The Swiss star served easily for a 2-0 run before going back to pressure the Italian. The 27-year-old had to fight to force deuce on serve but struggled to get Bencic out of the groove of returning every one of her shots. It took a second break to get the AD point on her end and get on the scoreboard. 

Bencic kept the serve consistent while denying Trevisan any leverage to get into a position to break. For the Italian, it was another fight to deuce to hold serve, but her doing so put the gap to a single game after five. Bencic opened the door for the 27-year-old as the second serve came apart, bringing a massive amount of frustration to the Swiss. Trevisan gained her first breakpoint and scored it on an error from the 11^th seed. 

With the score tied, the Italian had a chance to take over the lead on serve but flopped her chance on the second serve. Relieved, Bencic jumped at the chance with gifted breakpoints and serve for a chance to open the gap. She put together four unanswered points in response, setting up a shot to end the set herself. Bencic landed a return winner, drew an error from her opponent, and earned set point on a Trevisan double fault. With the Italian all but out, she closed out the set with a shot wide into the tramlines that ended play in 44 minutes. 

Despite having two double faults, keeping the first serve in check was important for the 11^th seed who had a dismal second but did well at the net and produced only five errors in total. Trevisan had it worse which helped Bencic take her 10-point streak into the next set. The Swiss made it to 12 consecutive points before the Italian put an end to it. She failed to turn things around for a break that allowed the Swiss to cap her fourth straight. She added two more wins for a break and hold that put her up 3-0 on Trevisan, who was slowly coming apart. 

Bencic marched closer as her confidence was at 100 percent, painting the open spots on the court where Trevisan wasn’t. With another break in hand, Bencic moved into place with another shutout, leaving the Italian to stave off the bagel or extend the second set. Bencic made it difficult with her full response on returned shot and delivered a winner to reach match point. A return landing wide of the line brought Trevisan to deuce where she dug in to play three breaks and score the AD point winner. Despite losing out on bageling Trevisan, Bencic made good of her service game, reaching three unanswered points. The 11^th seed made her third point count with a swing and a miss from Trevisan that pushed her into the third round after 1 hour and 11 minutes invested.  

I felt good on the court but it wasn’t easy because the wind blew on one side of the court and then you played against it from the other side,” said Bencic after the match. “That was a little bit tricky but after yesterday’s weather I’m happy that the sun was shining.” When asked about whether she wanted a fourth straight left-hander to go against, the Swiss star chuckled with a response with either Jessica Pegula or Misaki Doi being her next opponent.