Belinda Bencic edges Andrea Petkovic in US Open three setter

Belinda Bencic celebrates a key point during her first round match with Andrea Petkovic at the US Open. 

Belinda Bencic played through the motions to be victorious at the US Open. Andrea Petkovic gave it her best shot and had a chance to continue, but the Swiss star sped up the pace late with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win on Court 7 at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. It gave Bencic her fifth win against Petkovic, who announced her retirement from the sport.

It marked the sixth meeting for the two and the first in New York since 2016, when Bencic won her second match against Petkovic. Having been off course from one another for four years, rekindling their rivalry in their first round meant a heavy battle. Both have big right forehands and can run for the shots, but Bencic’s youth plays an advantage against the 34-year-old. The German had a short stint leading up to the slam, while Bencic played it smart and went deep in Toronto. Despite her quarterfinal loss, she took time off to regroup and be on point for another run at a maiden slam.

She opened the match with a break to love of Petkovic and added a serve to love on top of that. Having won the first eight points, Bencic handed the German her first, with a return error in the third. It opened the door for Petkovic to play the rest of her service and clinch the win that brought heavy applause from the stands. Despite the loss of absolute control of the pace, Bencic moved forward into the fourth game on serve, dealing with the wind that picked up on the court. It led to a double fault and a chance on deuce for the 34-year-old.

Bencic committed a second one on account of the wind but adjusted to keep the rally in between the lines. After two breaks, the Swiss star kept her strategy in check, taking a 3-1 lead. Petkovic tallied another hold of serve in the fifth, keeping in touch with the 13th seed. By the seventh game, Bencic kept it to three and served for the set drawing errors from the German. Reaching two set points, the 25-year-old got one more error out of Petkovic to take the first in 30 minutes.

Petkovic had a better output on first serves, but winning points from it was all on Bencic, who kept the errors low at six and outscored her opponent 28-16. The 34-year-old wanted to turn things around in the second set and started strong with a hold in the first. Bencic followed suit but watched as the German intensified her shots across the court, finding the marks that she wanted. After blanking the 13th seed for the lead in the third, Petkovic broke her, gaining an opportunity due to errors.

Petkovic consolidated the effort with another service to love, reaching 4-1 in the set. Bencic knew she couldn’t let a fourth game get away from her and served up balls away from Petkovic, bringing the margin down to two. The seventh game had Bencic pushing for a break of the German, but she wasn’t having any of it. She reached a game point, but couldn’t put it away, sending them to a long fight for the win.

The two played six breaks of deuce with Petkovic saving three of them. It wasn’t until Bencic gained another AD point, that it would be the one to put her a game down and a chance to level on serve. The 13th seed accomplished her task, getting to four-all holding Petkovic back. She responded in the shape of a serve to love, earning a shot at taking the set from Bencic. The German veteran gained two breakpoints but watched the Swiss level up and reach a game point.

A forehand error from the 13th seed got Petkovic to deuce, who then scored a winner for the AD point. It was there that Bencic double-faulted and gifted the win to Petkovic, opening the door for a potential upset in the deciding set. It was the third double that Bencic produced in the set and seventh overall causing her to struggle with her accuracy and low amount of winners.

Petkovic opened scoring in the third, holding Bencic to a point while earning cheers from her supporters in the stands. Bencic responded in the second with hard hits for the game, but she still felt the pressure from the 34-year-old. The 13th seed suffered a bad ending to the third when she got on the board and was ready to make a fight to deuce. Petkovic’s return on game point hit the net and landed on Bencic’s side, giving her the 2-1 lead.

The Swiss held serve in the fourth, but gaining any leverage against her opponent was not in sight. The two held service through four games as they entered the business end of the match, and Petkovic was still in control of the pace. Bencic went big in the ninth, forcing errors on her opponent to earn the break. With a shot to end the day with her rival, the 13th seed served for the match and achieved three match points.

An ace brought it all to a conclusion for the Swiss, who got the win in 2 hours and 10 minutes. Knowing that this was her last time fighting to the bitter end, the players embraced at the net for a time before the German waved to the entire court. Bencic will await Sorana Cirstea in the second-round, but would not forget the fight her longtime rival gave her.