Belinda Bencic achieves major comeback to win at US Open

Belinda Bencic clnches her fist during a challenging second-round match with Sorana Cirstea at the US Open. 

Belinda Bencic worked her way through a tremendous comeback at the US Open Thursday. Seeing her almost out in the second round, Sorana Cirstea gave the 13th seed a window of opportunity to win it 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Court 11 at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. Both recorded many points and were even on winners to unforced errors, but the change in momentum played a role in Bencic’s victory.

Two weeks ago, the Romanian gained her second win over Bencic, winning in a tight three-setter. The early exit put the 25-year-old on a long preparation to be at her best in the final slam. Going against Andrea Petkovic was no easy task, as the German played for her career. Dispatching the tennis veteran took the full run of action, and facing Cirstea again meant getting into a higher gear. The Romanian holds the series lead, and with the recent experience against the 13th seed, she would try to keep her momentum level as she did against Laura Siegemund.

Cirstea pulled off a serve to love as a way of starting the match with Bencic, who held her opponent to a point before holding. The 25-year-old challenged the Romanian on serve, coming back from 40-15 to deuce. Bencic took the AD point and broke for the lead, but gaining a two-game buffer was out of the question from Cirstea’s end. She drew errors out of the Swiss to force deuce and earned the break back on another error.

The Romanian consolidated for the lead after the fifth, feeling confident about her strengths taking shape. Bencic stayed close to remain level with Cirstea, waiting for her chance to get back in front. The 32-year-old didn’t give a line to her opponent and instead broke her for a commanding 5-3 lead. Serving for the set, Cirstea continued to hit the balls right where she wanted them.

She went for a sliced serve that came back wide from the 13th seed, taking the first in 36 minutes. The errors were low from both players, but the Romanian scored 15 of 18 points from the first serve, while the Swiss struggled for a better output. Bencic opened the second set with an important service hold because Cirstea showed no wasted time leveling the score.

Bencic gained the leverage of being ahead on the scoreboard after holding serve, but gaining a break remained a difficult feat. Having only one from the first set, getting a second on Cirstea in the fourth was nearly impossible. They played eight minutes with some of it fighting on deuce until the third break stayed with the Romanian to hold. Bencic smashed a ball in frustration after it was over, falling behind on serve only made it worse. The Romanian broke Bencic to love for the lead in the fifth, further angering the 13th seed.

She kept up the mission to break Cirstea, but the 32-year-old answered her to bring the game to deuce. It was a tug of war with tension on both sides, as either player wanted the win. After saving two break points, Cirstea watched happily, as Bencic erred to give her a 4-2 lead. The Swiss held serve in the seventh to inch within reach of Cirstea, but it was still an uphill fight. Cirstea went back to the two-game buffer, holding together in the eighth, adding pressure on Bencic.

The 13th seed assured herself further time on the court, giving only one point to the Romanian in the ninth. Sitting a game down moved the pressure on Cirstea, who knew that giving any ground during the business end of the set would ruin her chance to get away. The Romanian watched Bencic get a jump on the score, forcing her to fight back. A massive blunder for Bencic came when an easy smash went into the net, leaving her devastated. She somehow saved the game, scoring two points with a line drive winner for a five-all tie.

The accomplishment turned the tables in favor of the 13th seed, who went on a tear of Cirstea. Allowing her opponent three points through two games, Bencic took the second set in one hour and four minutes, assuring herself a chance to be the one in control. She opened the third set, keeping the Romanian behind her on serve. Converting a break was still a tough task for the 13th seed, who forced deuce but couldn’t get an AD point to go her way.

She continued to lead, scoring a winner and an ace that went as her sixth of the match. From the third game, Bencic pulled off a key break in the fourth, before taking a 4-1 grip of the set. Cirstea got a serve locked down, but Bencic held to sit at 5-2, turning the pressure up on her opponent. The Romanian fell behind 0-30 but painted the tramlines to recover.

A chance for her to add another win faltered when Bencic forced deuce on a line drive winner. After a double fault occurred, Cirstea saved it, but on Bencic’s second match point, she watched the shot go into the net, ending a truly successful comeback for the 13th seed that took 2 hours and 27 minutes.