Belinda Bencic takes down Caroline Garcia in three sets at Adelaide International

Belinda Bencic celebrates a point during her quarterfinal with Caroline Garcia at the Adeliade Interational. 

Belinda Bencic played a tight battle in three sets to come through at the Adelaide International Thursday night. The Swiss star went the distance against Caroline Garcia, who she targeted at the start and finish, to win 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 on Centre Court at the Memorial Drive Tennis Club.

Bencic’s win over Anna Kalinskaya wasn’t as swift as she wanted, coming from a break down to make it to the last eight. The Swiss star’s serve went sour more than in her three-set win over Garbine Muguruza in the opening round. The opposition didn’t get better against Garcia, who maintained her aggressive style of tennis that took down Katerina Siniakova in three sets.

Despite having 39 errors, the 42 winners and 14 aces made up for the struggle against the Czech. In their second match with one another, Bencic looked to gain another win over the Frenchwoman, and post her fourth career semifinal in Australia.

Garcia opened with a stronger service than Bencic, but the Swiss scored the first break in the third for the lead. She went on to consolidate for a 3-1 lead over Garcia, who struggled with her service, finding herself trailing in the fifth. Bencic held her ground for the double break and kept Garcia to a single point while serving in the sixth. With a 5-1 stand for Bencic, the fourth seed had one chance to begin the recovery.

Overcoming a short deficit on serve, Garcia force deuce, etching a second win to extend the set. Bencic put the cork in Garcia’s plans, taking the eighth game with ease closing out the first in 32 minutes. Despite having eight winners to Bencic’s five, the second serve dragged the French star’s performance.

Garcia turned things around in the second set, holding serve through five games, with two of them coming by way of a shutout. Bencic continued to pursue the fourth seed until the fifth, when Garcia forced deuce and pulled off the break. Holding the score at 4-2, the fourth seed blanked Bencic on serve in the seventh, inching closer to forcing a decider.

Bencic served to keep the set moving, allowing Garcia a single point in the eighth. Once the fourth seed returned to service, she blasted shots across the court and set up two set points before putting Bencic away with a straight winner down the side ending 35 minutes. Garcia was flawless from the first serve, which hiked up her success from the second. Bencic’s second serve fell to 38 percent despite having just three errors.

It was anyone’s match going in the third, but Garcia had the service in place, following Bencic’s lead. The fourth was key for the eighth seed to a break after overcoming a 15-40 deficit. She forced deuce and held the AD point to lead 3-1, but consolidating proved difficult. Garcia refused to fall three games down and pushed Bencic around to sit a game behind with the break back.

The fourth seed leveled the score, staying with Bencic through eight games as they closed in on the business end of the match. Bencic won the ninth in a shutout, putting Garcia in a spot to hold or find her tournament hopes dashed. The Frenchwoman found herself in a battle for control as Bencic forced deuce in the tenth, making the AD point critical for both players. After two breaks, Bencic took her first AD point attempt and rallied with Garcia until a slice from the fourth seed sealed the Swiss a spot in the semifinals after 1 hour and 53 minutes.

“The key to win was to hold the serve for sure,” said Bencic.  “We both serve great, and it's tough to return against Caroline, so it was a battle of who could do it better, but I think in the end it was really about the serve.” Bencic will meet against Veronika Kudermetova, who she has a long history dating back to juniors in Friday’s semifinal.