After 7 wins in a row, Belinda Bencic (WTA 10) once again tasted the bitterness of defeat. The Olympic champion was eliminated in the round of 16 of the Australian Open. She lost 7-5 6-2 to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (5) who remains undefeated in 2023.
Despite a brilliant start that allowed her to lead 3-1 then 4-2, Belinda Bencic gave in to the power of her opponent. La-St-Galloise, who has never reached the quarter-final stage of the Australian Open, has lost 11 of the last 14 games of the meeting in front of an Aryna Sabalenka who seems to have – finally – found her marks at the service.
“A lightweight against a heavyweight”
“It was like a fight between a lightweight and a heavyweightadmits Belinda Bencic. I couldn’t counter his strike force. And I couldn’t really grasp the small openings that were offered to me. I started well. But Aryna was able to be more and more aggressive. This is also her great strength when she finds herself under pressure.”
“Naturally I’m disappointed, continues the Saint-Galloise. But I’m not 36th below. I have no reason to give in to discouragement. I consider my start to the year successful with the title in Adelaide and this round of 16 in Melbourne. I am motivated to work even harder. The idea is to inject more power into my game. So I have to earn more free points with my serve. Also be able to defend better. Faced with Sabalenka, we can’t try to hit the ball even harder than her. We have to find other ways to beat her.”
“We are on the right path”
She believes that Dmitry Tursunov is the right coach to bring about the desired changes in his game. “Dmitry has a reputation as a coach capable of really improving his players.she says. I am checking it out. We are on the right path. I’m looking forward to what’s next.” Which will lead her to a tour of 4 tournaments in the Emirates, in Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai.
For Aryna Sabalenka, it is now necessary to conclude to pick a 1st Grand Slam title on Saturday. Guilty of… 428 double faults in 2022, Saballenka only committed 4 in this round of 16. Including 3 in the 3rd game of the first set to concede his only break of the game. But after this game, she was able to overcome her demons to deliver almost the perfect match.
After this victory, she advances as one of the great favorites of the tournament who lost her No. 4 seed Caroline Garcia on Monday, crushed by the pressure. She will be opposed in the quarter-finals to Donna Vekic (WTA 64). Returning to the fore after being injured for a long time, the Croatian is in danger, like Belinda Bencic, of being disarmed in the face of the implacable tennis of the Belarusian.
ats/alt