Belinda Bencic was in fine form and despite a late surge, punched her ticket to the quarterfinals at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy Wednesday night. The Swiss powerhouse took care of Kaja Juvan in a 6-1, 7-6(2) result on center court at Sibur Arena. It was the second quarterfinal appearance for the fifth seed, who hadn’t reached it in six years.
The Swiss got into another three-set battle with Veronika Kudermetova on Monday, edging the Russian on her home court. Facing Juvan in the second round gave Bencic a chance to level the series as the Slovenian took their first meeting at Wimbledon. With the surface being much different than last season, the reigning Olympic champion had her eyes set on taking care of business. The 21-year-old took a lot of time on the court against Alison Van Uytvanck in her opening round win to be going against the fifth seed. After so many errors from the fifth seed, Juvan would hope to cause her opponent trouble and get another win against her opponent.
The Slovenian came out with some jitters, committing a double fault during her service. She caught up at 30-all and reached a game point, putting her service game to rest. Bencic made her service look simple in the second, wasting no time to get it locked. The Swiss faced a deficit by Juvan but won the next three of four points scoring the break. Bencic managed to hold serve against the Slovenian’s offensive push in the fourth, opening the gap with the win.
She backed it up with the double break, giving her a 4-1 lead over Juvan, who was well behind the pace. The fifth seed made it 5-1 with ease, forcing Juvan to hold serve to sit a set down. She handed Bencic an early lead but erred to close out the set in 28 minutes. Bencic was better in the big moments despite having a low first-serve percentage that was bettered by Juvan. The 21-year-old put together a dozen winners but had 11 errors and was outscored 28-17.
Bencic opened the second with another dominant service game, scoring her seventh win against Juvan. The Slovenian ended the long side, with the fifth seed erring on the last three points played. She tried to use her small success to go for the break, but Bencic wouldn’t have it. The Swiss wanted the break in the third, but Juvan found a way to establish her service games and hold once more.
With two from her end, Juvan improved with a big statement by breaking Bencic in the fifth. She went on to back it up, with a third service game locked down, gaining the lead in the set. Bencic got back on track, staying within a game of Juvan after holding serve. She played the eighth game so well, scoring another break to level the score at four-all. With her late surge, the fifth seed pressured Juvan to struggle on the returns and fall 5-4.
The 21-year-old played the tenth like it was her last, swinging big with the forehand, taking a 40-0 run on Bencic. She kept the heat on until an error from the Swiss secured her first shutout, turning the pressure on her opponent to level back. Bencic answered with a beautiful ace down the T, only to see Juvan respond later with solid returns. The 24-year-old kept in front, scoring the important game point to play for the match at 6-5.
With Juvan back in the hot seat, the Slovenian gained an early lead while wreaking havoc for Bencic, who smashed her racket. She took what was left and got a point on the board, but an ace from Juvan put her in a good spot. The 21-year-old let it fade away with her fourth double fault but got into a tiebreak with a long return from Bencic. It was the second for the fifth seed in the tournament, and with her experience, she gave herself the best chance at ending the competition. She fired an ace down the T and returned a winner for the mini-break. It was 3-0 for the Swiss, who scored another return winner while Juvan struggled.
The next four points were split, giving Bencic a 5-2 lead. She scored a winner for the match point and watched the next come back down the tramline to end a 1 hour and 20-minute match. “It was a tough match, and I was prepared for this,” Bencic said during her on-court interview. “Kaja is a great player, and we practiced at home sometimes together, and she’s definitely someone who works very hard, and it’s going to be a tough rally. So, I’m happy I won the first set easy, and then I had to fight in the second set and happy with today’s win.
She’ll go into the last eight meeting Annett Kontaveit, who she has never faced before
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