Belinda Bencic wins second round in straight sets over Lamens

Belinda Bencic with her eyes on the ball during the second round of the Australian Open.

Belinda Bencic made it another straight-sets win at the Australian Open on Wednesday. The Swiss star dispatched Dutch player Suzan Lamens 6-1, 7-6(3) on Court Six at Melbourne Park. Bencic scored 20 winners with a combined 18 unforced errors which was less than half of Lamens. 

The Swiss star made an impressive start to 2025 in her straight-sets win over Jelena Ostapenko on Monday. Bencic saved two set points in the tiebreak before clinching her first top-50 win since returning from maternity. Lamens went two hours against a fellow debutante, barely surviving the battle with Veronika Erjavec. Facing a seasoned athlete, the Dutchwoman knew that the difficulty rose exponentially going into the second round. 

Lamens won the opening point of her service, right before Bencic conducted the remainder of the first and captured the break. She consolidated the early success on serve, rolling through Lamens to remain solely in the lead. The 25-year-old charged in the fourth, breaking the former world number four, only to see herself broken back in the fifth. Bencic coasted to a set win that took 25 minutes, achieving the easy shutout on serve and break to love. 

Lamens wanted to tell Bencic that she wouldn’t be an easy competitor, taking the Swiss star to deuce for the first time in the match. Bencic overcame the deficit on serve, playing two breaks before achieving the hold. The 27-year-old broke the qualifier, then shut her down in the third. Lamens got onto the scoreboard scoring an ace from the forehand, and a winner to clinch the service game.

By the sixth, the Dutchwoman had two under her belt, sitting in a better spot to challenge Bencic. The Swiss star led the way, with Lamens gaining a third win in the set on a break. Bencic broke back for the 5-3 lead, going for the match on serve. The 25-year-old jumped out to another break chance in the ninth, forcing tough shots for Bencic to smack into the net. Lamens managed to dig in and level the score, holding Bencic from taking the easy route. Bencic took the initiative in the 12th, putting pressure on her opponent to either force a tiebreak or fall out. 

The game went deep, with Lamens defending her side of the court, and Bencic hunting for a break chance. After six times at deuce and two blown match points for the Swiss, Lamens took the long-awaited win on serve to force a second-set tiebreak. Bencic used her experience in the situation, jumping out to a 4-1 stand, until Lamens surged. She put that to an end, reaching a third match point, and solidifying her way to the third round on a final error from Lamens ending 1 hour and 40 minutes on the court. 

Elina Svitolina coasts in first round win at Australian Open

Elina Svitolina celebrates during her first round of the Australian Open against Sorana Cirstea.

Elina Svitolina had a successful win to start 2025 at the Australian Open on Monday. The former world number four took down Sorana Cirstea in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 on Court Seven at Melbourne Park. The 30-year-old showed minimal struggle, moving well to get back in the form she wanted. 

The Ukrainian and Romanian met for the fourth time, and both were coming off four months of absence from tennis. Svitolina required foot surgery, which would be tested against Cirstea, who also needed the same surgery. Her path to comeback was five months in waiting after losing six straight from May to July. Despite Svitolina’s three-match wins playing Cirstea, both players came into the open hungry to tally wins under their belts. 

Cirstea opened the match serving well to Svitolina, until the Ukrainian got her hands on the ball. The 28th seed glided through her serve in the second, then broke Cirstea for the lead. Svitolina got into a groove, marking another win from her service for a 3-1 stand. The Romanian struggled to make the returns in the fifth, allowing the 28th seed to widen the gap. The Ukrainian ran into problems with both sides of her hitting, committing a second double fault late in the game. 

Cirstea gained the AD point for the break and consolidated a hold that brought her within a game after seven played. Svitolina reeled in her offense in the eighth to put pressure on the 34-year-old. She made a statement at the business end of the set, smashing winners near the baselines to send the pressure her opponent’s way. Svitolina managed the challenge earning a shutout of the Romanian to go up a set after 40 minutes. 

The opening of the second set was a challenge for Cirstea, who fell short of the 28th seed but forced a deuce on serve. They went three breaks before the Romanian sealed the win. Through the next seven games, the two players held serve, trading off control to one another. The ninth became the most competitive as Cirstea again fought from behind the score. 

She forced deuce, going five breaks with the Ukrainian, who gained every break chance. A total of seven were saved before Svitolina broke the 34-year-old to serve for the match. She jumped out to a strong lead, achieving two set points before a return landed behind the baseline to end her first-round victory in 1 hour and 31 minutes.