Bencic earns smooth victory against Haddad Maia at Sydney Tennis Classic

Belinda Bencic clenches her first during her first WTA match of 2022 at the Sydney Tennis Classic 

Belinda Bencic had a smooth opening win at the Sydney Tennis Classic Tuesday. The fast right-hander dispatched Beatriz Haddad Maia in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 at Ken Rosewall Arena at the Sydney Olympic Tennis Park. It marked the first win for the world number 24 this season with many more to come. 

With the withdraw of the world number four, the reigning Olympic champion in singles tennis took on the Brazilian for the first time. Haddad Maia made her debut in Sydney with victories in qualification setting herself to challenge the Swiss. Bencic played exhibitions in Abu Dhabi in December, but despite losing every match there, it didn’t leave her vulnerable. Bencic had a good track record against left-handers like the Brazilian, giving her a shot at conducting during the Australian run. 

Bencic opened the match by giving Haddad Maia a single point before holding the first. The Brazilian pulled off the same feat that put her in motion after the second. Bencic dealt with some fight in the third and answered back with a break of the 25-year-old in the fourth. The Swiss star backed it up for a three-game lead only to see Haddad Maia cut the margin down. It was a short-lived feat for the qualifier as Bencic upped the ante taking a 5-2 stand. 

Haddad Maia made sure to hold serve in the business end of the set due to her opponent getting back on the ball in the ninth. It was there that the Swiss star opened to a 40-0 run and scored set point to end things in 33 minutes. While Haddad Maia had a better output from her first serve than Bencic, the 24-year-old scored 80 percent of points and outscored her 27-19. 

The Brazilian served to start the second stanza with Bencic comfortably matching her. The Swiss waited for her moment to strike in the third and captured the break with ease. Bencic continued her march through Haddad Maia by backing up the break and scoring the double that made it 4-1. With another relatively easy hold, Bencic stood one game from the second round with Haddad Maia holding on to her potential last serve. The Brazilian made some big return winners while gaining a path to victory on return errors by Bencic. 

When the 24-year-old got back to service, she cleanly ran through the eighth game to dispatch Haddad Maia in 1 hour and 10 minutes to advance to the round of 16. “It’s tricky to play the first match of the year, Bencic said during her on-court interview. “Even though the season is long I actually felt well today and it’s just about taking it easy, not putting so much pressure at the start of the year just take time to get into it.” 

She’ll get into the second round facing the winner between Oceane Dodin and Guiliana Olmos on Wednesday.