WHAT HAPPENED: In an exhausting, momentum-shifting encounter, 13th seed Belinda Bencic reached the third round of the 2019 US Open with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 victory over veteran Alizé Cornet of France. The match was filled with long rallies and aggressive play from both players.
Played under bright sunshine with swirling winds, both Bencic and Cornet struggled with the conditions early on and had trouble sustaining long rallies. But as the set continued Bencic found her rhythm and started to win her service games with ease, while Cornet began to struggle with her second-serve points, as she was under pressure with Bencic’s strong returns. Additionally, Bencic increased her aggressive tactics, most notably moving forward for swinging volleys on key points that proved the difference in the first set. Frequently hitting corners on her groundstrokes, Bencic kept Cornet on the run throughout the set.
The second set proved to be an entirely different matter as Cornet was able to extend the rallies and forced Bencic into numerous unforced errors. More importantly Cornet finally began making inroads on Bencic’s serve, attaining her first two break points and converting both of them.
In the third stanza, Bencic reverted to her tactics that she used so effectively in the first set and began to impose her return game again. The strategy proved effective as Cornet struggled on both her first and second serves and managed to win only 12 of 23 of her service points.
WHAT IT MEANS: Ever since Bencic reached the quarterfinal round at the 2014 US Open as a 17 year-old phenom, she was forecast to be a familiar face in the latter stages of Slams. But an assortment of injuries plagued the Swiss star for several years. Thus far, 2019 is her first injury-free season in five years and she appears to be playing into form and will be a very dangerous player if she continues to move through the draw. Next up for Bencic will be Anett Kontaveit from Estonia.
MATCH POINT: For fans of Swiss and French players, Court 17 proved to be the place to be on Thursday as the Bencic-Cornet match was preceded by the Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland)-Jeremy Chardy (France) encounter.
