Return to the top 10
Bencic fails in the Toronto Quarterfinals
Belinda Bencic does not use her good starting position in Toronto. She fails in the quarter-finals as the best-ranked player remaining in the upper half of the tableau to Beatriz Haddad Maia 6: 2, 3: 6, 3: 6.
Belinda Bencic certainly had chances of another victory: she was dominant in the first set. And in the deciding set, the 24-year-old Swiss led 2-0 with a break advantage.
After convincing successes against former world number 1 Serena Williams (6:2, 6:4) and Garbine Muguruza (6:1, 6:3), Bencic met an opponent who is in significantly better shape than the opponents before . Beatriz Haddad Maia came into play in the second set and then knocked down the Swiss. The 26-year-old this week became the first Brazilian to reach first the quarter-finals and now the semi-finals at a WTA 1000 event, as well as becoming the first Brazilian to defeat a reigning world No. 1 in the round of 16 with Iga Swiatek.
After the win over Swiatek, Haddad Maia also had more confidence than Bencic, although the day before she had also beaten a top 10 player on hard court for the first time this year. From the second set, Bencic no longer won the most important rallies.
Belinda Bencic only lost a singles game for the second time in Toronto (11:2 wins). Seven years ago she became the youngest person since Jennifer Capriati to win the tournament with victories over Serena Williams and Simona Halep, and in her only other appearance before this year she made it to the 3rd round.
Back in the top 10
The defeat against Haddad Maia certainly does not mean the end of the world for Bencic. The Brazilian recently defeated five top 10 players in a row and has won eight of the last ten games against top 20 opponents (like Bencic). Since June she has had 15 wins – more than any other player on the tour (tournament wins in Nottingham and Birmingham). At the beginning of the year in Sydney, Bencic won against Haddad Maia in the first round 6: 3, 6: 2.
In the world rankings next Monday, Belinda Bencic will overtake Emma Raducanu (from 10 to 11) and Coco Gauff (from 11 to 12) and move up from 12th to 10th place. (SDA)