Bencic overpowers Rybakina in three sets at Abu Dhabi Open

Belinda Bencic celebrates a hard-earned victory against Elena Rybakina at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open

Belinda Bencic prevailed in a high-quality performance between the players at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Friday night. The Swiss star defeated Elena Rybakina in three sets to advance to the finals after a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 result on Stadium Court at the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre. It was Bencic's first WTA final appearance after giving birth to her daughter last April. 

The two former tournament champions met for the third time and the first since a Chicago warm-up four years ago. It was where the Kazak leveled the score after losing the Olympic semifinal to the eventual gold medalist. Since her maternity leave, Bencic performed well at the Australian Open, battling hard to beat silver medalist Marketa Vondroussova. Rybakina kept her title defense alive after narrowly defeating Ons Jabeur Thursday, with another hard match at her feet, the number one seed had time to readjust. 

The 25-year-old dug in deep to her service, trading points into deuce before eventually taking it. Bencic followed suit with a comfortable hold, followed by Rybakina, who held Bencic to a point in the third. The Swiss star leveled the score, with her first ace of the match heating up to hunt down breaking Rybakina. The top seed iced Bencic in the sixth to capture the break and consolidated her service to widen the gap to three. 

Bencic served Rybakina to love in the eighth, but her efforts were cut short as the 25-year-old cruised to victory in the first set, taking it in 41 minutes. The output performances by both players were even on the numbers, but the breaks for Rybakina gave her an easy finish to the set. 

The 27-year-old made a huge statement in the second, taking control of the pace on serve. She tied in a break of Rybakina, building a three-game lead in her favor. The Kazak avoided giving Bencic the double break, but the grip of control remained in the hands of the unseeded Swiss. The two players held serve through five quick games, leading Bencic to force the defending champion to the distance after 40 minutes. It was another high level of tennis between the two, with the numbers close but the edge going to Bencic. 

She kept up the strategy that paid off in the second, breaking Rybakina then suffered a break to love in her service. The 27-year-old brushed it off with a double break and made it 3-1 on serve. She continued to march forward, with the top seed two games down after six. A critical break of serve in the seventh opened the door for Bencic to serve for the match. A good challenge for match point went to Bencic after the call of out was overturned. Both were surprised that the point went to the Swiss, who lost on two opportunities to close it out. Rybakina took her statements made in the game, breaking Bencic with a fourth straight winner. 

The 25-year-old took her surge and constructed a strong service to eat her way into Bencic’s lead. Bencic felt the pressure in her second attempt to serve out the match, denying Rybakina a point in the ninth. With three match points, the Swiss star blew one of them, but succeeded on her fourth attempt, watching a return from Rybakina land into the tramlines. It was a 2 hour and six-minute fight for the 27-year-old, who dug in and held her success against another top ten player. “I worked really hard to come back,” said Bencic during her on-court interview. “It was not an easy road, and I’m so excited that the results are coming so fast. It still doesn’t mean the work is over, and I’m happy that it's working on the court.”

Bencic will face Ashlyn Krueger on Saturday in their first meeting, with a second potential title in the tournament on the line for the Swiss.