Ons Jabeur wins Charleston Open title over Belinda Bencic

Ons Jabeur playing well with the forehand against Belinda Bencid at the Credit One Charleston Open final. 

Ons Jabeur earned her revenge a year later at the Credit One Charleston Open Sunday. The second chapter of the tournament ended with the second seed getting a late jump on the defending champion, winning 7-6(6), 6-4 on Stadium Court at the Family Circle Tennis Center.

It seemed that the delays and the rain couldn’t stop the finalists from meeting for the second consecutive year on Daniel Island. Both the Tunisian and the Swiss had a lengthy battle with their opponents, with Jabeur going 7-5, 7-5 against Daria Kasatkina and Bencic going 7-5, 7-6(5) against Jessica Pegula. The effort on Sunday for the fourth seed wasn’t much, who got into gear to avoid a third set from going into motion.

Though both of them got time to recover, the leverage stood with the Swiss, who had time to warm up but had to wait for the final to begin. Jabeur took the lead after their third match of 2022, making it an interesting set-up to see if she could keep the series in her grasp.  

The second seed opened service but had some tension from the forehand. Bencic got ahead of her opponent’s issue, taking advantage of the returns that could turn brutal for the break. The Swiss consolidated on Jabeur’s struggle from the return side, falling 2-0 in response. She did well in the third, moving around for the returns and serving better to take down Bencic to love.

The fourth seed returned the favor, with a love service to Jabeur, who quickly dispatched the fifth game to her benefit. By the seventh, Jabeur had lit up the aces to Bencic, recording three on serve to stay in touch. Bencic remained in command of her service, taking a 5-3 hold despite not serving the way her opponent did. Jabeur made it eight aces on the day, giving the Swiss a point before making it 5-4.

The Swiss star felt the pressure from Jabeur, who gave it her all to redirect the momentum and come up with the break. After finishing with a dramatic rally in the tenth, the second seed put the aces to work, watching Bencic swing and miss at them. Double faults started the reel it's ugly head into her service game, but errors from the fourth seed got her out of a jam. Bencic was asked to do much more than she was capable of at the moment, leading Jabeur to three set points.

The 26-year-old saved one on a net-front return situation, then another on a Jabeur error. Bencic got things to deuce on a clipped shot on the tramline, far away from the Tunisian. She fended off another two, before turning the tables and getting the game point locked down for the tiebreak. It was the second tiebreak of the day that the 26-year-old played, and got a 2-0 lead.

The Swiss star leveled her opponent on errors before Jabeur made it 3-2 on a lob just over the net. Before the changeover, the second seed hit one into the net to level Bencic back. They traded another pair of points before Bencic’s backhand caused trouble. The fourth seed made it 6-4, before the second seed saved a set point for the Swiss, and then witnessed Bencic blow her second one. At six-all, Jabeur forced her way ahead and made good on her sixth set point attempt to take the first in one hour and four minutes.

Bencic was frustrated by the late mistakes and chose to walk off the court during the break. She returned to serve open the second, falling behind to the Tunisian. Bencic broke back, but soon suffered the double break in the third by Jabeur, feeling hung up on her early deficit. The second seed stayed on target, separating herself from Bencic after consolidating the fourth.

Things only got better for the Tunisian as she succeeded for the triple break against the defending champion, sitting up 4-1. Losing a lot of confidence in her game, Bencic dug out a win for herself to break back in the sixth on second-serve returns. She tied in a service hold, putting herself a game behind Jabeur to keep the hopes alive. An important hold of serve for the 28-year-old put her up 5-3, hoping to avenge losing the title a year ago.

It was no easy task to get it done in the form of a break as Bencic fought to attain the AD point on deuce at every opportunity. She was back within reach after nine, but Jabeur had herself in place to seal it up. The two went to deuce until Jabeur gave herself a championship point which Bencic swiped away on a hammered backhand winner. The second seed gained a second championship point on a ball placed right in the far corner before she had her glory on a ball wide from Bencic ending the tournament in under two hours.