WHAT HAPPENED: The last—and first—time Iga Swiatek and Belinda Bencic met was at the Adelaide 500 final in February. Poland’s Swiatek overpowered Bencic there, using her commanding serve to keep the match short and, at least for the Polish player, sweet. Bencic returned just six Swiatek serves for winners in 67 minutes of play. Swiatek took the match, 6-2, 6-2, and the title.
In their Round of 16 meeting on Day 8 of the 2021 US Open, Bencic looked to struggle with back pain. But the Swiss player pulled out the win, outlasting Swiatek, 7-6, 6-3.
Before the match, Swiatek, the favored player, expressed only guarded optimism. “I know that she's a heavy hitter, she likes to take the ball early,” the No. 7 seed said of Bencic, seeded No. 11. “It's hard to play against her because she doesn't let her opponents find the rhythm.”
Swiatek is both comfortable and confident on the game’s biggest stages, taking the title at Roland Garros in 2020 and becoming the only player this season to reach the Round of 16 at all four majors.
But Bencic has had the more dominant serve this tournament. Through Round 3, her win percentage while serving was 78%, the highest among the 128 competitors. She had yet to drop a set. Another confidence booster: Bencic took home two medals from the Tokyo Olympics, a gold for singles and a silver for women’s doubles.
That confidence was on display from the start of the match, with Bencic breaking Swiatek’s serve to take an early lead. The 24-year-old Swiss player consolidated the break, easily winning her first service game, then forcing her Polish opponent to play five deuce points—punishing every second serve—before allowing Swiatek to finally hold serve.
The Polish player, age 20, continued to struggle with her first serve. Bencic continued to step in and take advantage of second-serve softies. Down 2-4, Swiatek needed two back-to-back aces to take the game. Behind her serve, the Swiss medalist was the more aggressive ball striker, forcing Swiatek to serve to stay in the set. The Polish player survived to bring the score to 4-5.
But then came cause for concern in the Bencic camp. The top-ranked Swiss player clutched her back—which she has injured in the past—then bent over to stretch it out. At her first break opportunity, Swiatek grabbed it and the match was even for the first time, 5-5.
A frustrated Bencic looked to be in both pain and emotional distress. While her serving stats slipped, she managed to win most of the groundstroke battles. The first set went to a tense tiebreak, with the error count mounting on both sides of the net. Up 10-9, Swiatek made a mess of a volley, then double faulted. The Polish player had a fourth set point, but Bencic passed her at the net. Finally, up 13-12 and after 23 minutes, Bencic pulled it out. Tiebreak score: 14-12.
The second set started without a break for medical attention. And Bencic seemed stronger—frustrated at times, but focused. Then it was Swiatek’s turn to look rattled: Serving at 1-2 the Polish player hit a rough patch, tossed in a double fault and Bencic found herself up a set and a break.
For her part, Bencic returned to economical, efficient tennis, going up 4-1. Although her play was nowhere close to the nearly flawless tennis seen early on, Bencic was helped by her opponent’s continued scratchy play. When Swiatek stepped up to the baseline to serve at 2-5, she started swinging freely, taking the game 40-0.
Closing out a match is hard to do. But serving at 5-3 with the end in sight, Bencic did just that, taking the second set, 6-3.
WHAT IT MEANS: Next up is quarterfinals play against the winner of the match between ascendant American Shelby Rogers and teenage tennis star Emma Raducanu.
MATCH POINT: Today was a test for Bencic, the first real adversity she’s faced on the singles court this tournament. And while playing from behind—and, possibly, through discomfort—is never what’s wanted, it’s sometimes what’s needed. Digging deep to find resiliency? She did that and it will likely serve her well in quarterfinals play and, hopefully, beyond.
On court after the match, Bencic summed it up this way: “I’m not so happy with the way I played today… but I’m happy I’m through.”
