Andy Murray is right, things change way too quickly in tennis, and Belinda Bencic can attest to that as she must swiftly put her stunning title victory in Toronto behind her to take on German No11 seed Angelique Kerber in the Cincinnati first on Tuesday.
It is a rare situation having the world No11 and No12 face-off in a first round at a tournament. Both are in-form too with Kerber winning Stanford two weeks ago and Bencic triumphing in Canada.
WOW Toronto… Thank you => tomorow new tournament, new start here some of my favourite pics pic.twitter.com/zZ9mgT3x12
— Belinda Bencic (@BelindaBencic) August 18, 2015
It will be interesting to see how the 18-year-old Bencic can mentally handle the emotions from her big win and start again from scratch this week in Cincinnati. Even if she does end up losing, Bencic could still get a top-16 seeding at the US Open, where she has had her greatest grand slam showing to-date – a quarter-final last year which included a win over Kerber.
Bencic’s week in Toronto has got to be the most impressive title run on the women’s tour in recent memory. She beat four of the world’s top-six – Serena Williams (No1), Simona Halep (No3), Caroline Wozniacki (No5) and Ana Ivanovic (No6) – plus two more slam finalists in Eugenie Bouchard (No25) and Sabine Lisicki (No24).
There are so many reasons why Bencic is such an exciting prospect. The way she reads the game, anticipates shots and comes up with crafty responses is not something you often get from the up-and-comers on Tour, many of whom are ball-bashers or are yet to mature enough to play that way.
– #360debate: Is Nick Kyrgios good for the game of tennis?
– Toronto: Bencic beats Simona Halep to take Rogers Cup crown
– Montreal: Andy Murray beats Novak Djokovic to take title
– #360view: Kyrgios’ latest debacle, comment towards Wawrinka
Her assault on the world rankings has been gradual and steady and at 18, she owns two titles and has made two more finals. The good thing about Bencic is that instead of exploding onto the scene with some huge results in the slams, she’s actually been making progress throughout the year, transitioning nicely from being a world No1 junior in 2013, to a top-12 player on the women’s circuit two years later.
Unlike Bouchard, who had a monster grand slam season in 2014 but is now struggling to win a single WTA match, Bencic is gaining lots of experience week in, week out, that will only help her on the major stage moving forward.
The US Open will be the first time she will have to defend many points at a slam but her title win in Toronto must have helped relieve some of that pressure, having gained 900 points there.
Bencic now has a chance to relax, focus on the Open and make sure she enjoys the ride, knowing she will be one of the most-dreaded players in the draw. At 18, that’s a great position to be in.
