Rising star Belinda Bencic ready to recieve some recognition

TORONTO – Belinda Bencic is quickly becoming a household name.

A day after knocking off Canadian starlet Eugenie Bouchard at the Rogers Cup, Bencic defeated fourth seed and former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets by identical 7-5 scores.

Not bad for her rookie appearance at the Canadian championship.

Bencic, who entered the tournament as the 20^th-ranked women’s player, now faces German Sabine Lisicki in the third round on Thursday.

“It’s two great wins for me in two days, so I'm really happy that I could win,” said the 18-year-old Flawil, Switzerland native. “I really feel good here in Toronto. I like it very much.

“I hoped it could be a good tournament. I mean it already is, but I hope it can be even better.”

Many Canadian tennis fans might not know Bencic’s name. But she’s no flash in the pan.

In the words of Yahoo’s resident tennis expert Stephanie Myles, “If Switzerland's Belinda Bencic were born in the U.S., the hype surrounding her would be off the charts the last few years.”

She’s been a rising star for years under the tutelage of Hall of Famer and countrywoman Martina Hingis and Hingis’s mother Melanie Molitor.

Last year, at 17 years old, Bencic became the youngest U.S. Open quarter-finalist since 1997 when Hingis – who is playing doubles in Toronto – turned the trick.

It’s almost like the second coming of the Swiss Miss. As much as she wants to downplay it, even she can’t deny the similarities.

“A lot of people say that it’s very similar,” Bencic said. “But she was very, very young and so good, so I really don't want to compare myself with her. It’s impossible to achieve what she has achieved so early. And I really try to be my own player.

“Of course, our game styles are very similar. It’s obvious.”

Bencic has already won once this year, claiming her first WTA title in Eastbourne, before Wimbledon, when she defeated Agnieszka Radwanska in the final.

That victory made her the second-youngest player to win a WTA Premier-level final.

Wozniacki won a tournament in 2008 when she was 18, but 66 days younger.

“She's a good player. She's different from most of the other young ones coming up,” Wozniacki said. “She takes the ball early. She places the ball.

“She doesn't have the biggest power, but she thinks out there, and I think that's her biggest strength.”

Bencic’s rise has been metroic. She was ranked 212^th in the world at the end of the 2013 season and was still playing Futures Tour events.

But she qualified for the 2014 Australian Open, won her first-round match and hasn’t looked back since.

Bencic said she needs to continue improving all aspects of her game – especially her second serve – to take the next jump in the rankings.

But right now, she’s pleased to be making a name for herself.

“I was working hard to be here one day, but I didn't know it's going to come so early,” she said. “It was very good for me that I made the transition from juniors to pros really smoothly and I didn't have a lot of problems adapting to the pro game and now I really feel like I belong here.

“It's really a nice feeling.”

Passing shot: Wozniacki was just one of a handful of top players to sustain early exits in Toronto on Wednesday. No. 7 seed Lucie Safarova lost 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 to Daria Gavrilova, No. 8 Garbine Muguruza fell to Lesia Tsurenko 7-5, 6-1 and No. 11 Ekaterina Makarova dropped a 6-2, 6-7, 7-5 match to qualifier Polona Hercog.