Belinda Bencic strengthens late to beat Petra Kvitova in three sets

Belinda Bencic in action during her third round match at the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montreal. 

Belinda Bencic rode through a wave of obstacles but came out the winner at the Omnium Banque Nationale Friday. The 12th seed suffered an injury to her ankle, but Petra Kvitova had enough problems with her attack on the returns losing 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-1 on Court Rogers at IGA stadium. It was a match of rain delays and medical timeouts for each player, but the 12th seed remained stronger by the match's end.

Their seventh meeting came short of a decade from when they first met. Bencic and Kvitova met four times in 2019, from two near the start of the season to its conclusion. Each split the series of matches, waiting four years to meet again. Bencic’s debut in Montreal was a long time coming, but her effort was successful.

After her win over Bronzetti, her battle with Alycia Parks went longer than expected. Despite going three sets, she had a day of rest before facing the veteran Czech. Kvitova went the distance against Camila Giorgi, going to 1 AM to get the job done. With only one match under her belt, the fight for a spot in the quarterfinal against the Swiss star would be a heavy competition.

Bencic earned the honor to serve first and kept Kvitova back in the opening game. The seventh seed followed suit and took advantage of her opponent's sudden double faults in the third. The AD point came to Kvitova, where she captured the break over the 12th seed for a 2-1 lead. During the sit-down, Bencic showed signs of agony in her leg but tolerated it in the fourth. She got ahead on the score, but Kvitova was determined to even the score and force deuce. It took her a break to gain the AD point and consolidate for a two-game buffer.

Bencic stayed close, scoring an important service in the fifth and avoiding a double break. She recovered the ground lost to level and make it a point to take the lead away. They went to deuce in the seventh on the Swiss service, where the 26-year-old held to go up 4-3. Kvitova was ferocious on serve in the eighth, serving Bencic to love to even the score. They continued in a deadlock, with the Swiss star holding the bar high for Kvitova to clear. In the 12th, she did just that to force a tiebreak with the 12th seed.

Bencic etched the first point, but Kvitova took a grip of the reigns and tallied three straight points her way. The 26-year-old tallied two more, but the Czech marched on to reach set point and take the first 7-3 after one hour and nine minutes. Kvitova had a strong output from her offense, recording 17 winners and 81 percent of first-serve points won. Both had a number of unforced errors, but Bencic struggled from the second serve dependence.

The Swiss made a surprising statement, breaking Kvitova to open the second set, but consolidating proved tough. Bencic had a moment of frustration after double-faulting, slamming her racket to the ground. She battled through six breaks until the AD point was captured. Kvitova had a lot to be mad about, failing on eight of nine break points blown. On serve in the third, she clinched the service but struggled to develop breakpoint chances.

They spanned five games, with Bencic remaining ahead on the count of denying Kvitova breakpoint opportunities. At 5-3, the 12th seed handled Kvitova’s service, blowing through the game for the easy break that forced them to a decider. It was a 55-minute achievement for the 26-year-old, who got into focus and a shot at besting her opponent at the business end of the match.

Bencic kept the game-winners going, taking the service game in the first. As they played the second, the Swiss star twisted her right leg at the ankle, falling down in pain, but managed to rise on her own power. The trainer arrived to analyze the situation, taking a three-minute medical timeout. After getting her ankle taped up, they resumed the second which Bencic went on to win.

The 12th seed did well on serve in the third, blasting the shots at Kvitova, who struggled to be a true threat. After a three-game slide, Kvitova marked her first win of the deciding set before she took a medical timeout to deal with an issue. The rain fell on the court during that timeout, but they resumed play. Bencic had a 4-1 commanding lead, gaining ground in the sixth to vie for a break. The 26-year-old got it, causing Kvitova to throw her racket after another frustrating game lost.

Bencic served for the match in the seventh, giving no points to the Czech to earn the shutout and the victory after a dramatic 2-hour and 57-minute roller coaster. The day was not over for the Swiss star, as she needed to prepare for her quarterfinal match against Ludmila Samsonova in less than four hours.