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Bittersweet triumph for Belinda Bencic as Simona Halep retires at the Rogers Cup
TORONTO – Belinda Bencic’s storybook march at the Rogers Cup had a bittersweet ending.
Bencic completed an unbelievable week by winning her second tournament of the season and first-ever Premier 5 event, but only when Simona Halep was forced to retire in the third set of Sunday’s final.
Still, Bencic – ranked 20th on the WTA Tour coming into Toronto – knocked off six top-25 players, including four of the best six in the world.
Her run consisted of beating Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard (25th), Caroline Wozniacki (fifth), Sabine Lisicki (24th), Ana Ivanovic (sixth) and Serena Williams (first).
Bencic was leading the third-ranked Halep 7-6, 6-7, 3-0 when the match ended prematurely, allowing the 18-year-old to become the first teenager to win the Rogers Cup since Ivanovic in 2006.
“I didn't know before that I beat six Grand Slam finalists in a row,” she said. “I cannot believe it and it's amazing. I have no words for this. Definitely talk about a tough draw.”
The result of the match could have been different if not for Halep’s injury.
Halep began receiving treatment while up 6-5 in the first set. She called a medical timeout and had her left thigh taped, but removed it to start the second set.
Halep said she her muscle was sore and then the pain spread to her knee. She also suffered from stomach cramps, she assumed from the scorching temperature on centre court.
Halep still plans to play in Cincinnati and in New Haven, Conn., in the lead up to the U.S. Open.
But the injury clearly hampered her on Sunday. She bent over and winced regularly in between points and continued to receive medical support on changeovers.
The 23-year-old Romanian figured she needed “a miracle to finish the match,” and played as long as she could for the dozens of people waving her country’s flag.
“They were like screaming all the time to push me to still play,” she said. “I have no idea why I still played the second set. But I did great and I'm happy that I could find the power to win the second set.”
Despite Halep’s ailment, it was no easy win for Bencic.
She was down 4-1 in the first-set tiebreak before charging back.
She was serving for the match up 5-4 in the second set, but was broken at love and needed consultation from her father and coach, Ivan, afterwards.
Bencic then lost the set in a tiebreak, a “stupid” outcome.
Her serve really let her down in that set. Four of her eight double faults came during that time.
Yet, she broke Halep twice to start the third. That gave the rising Swiss star and disciple of Martina Hingis and her mother, Melanie Molitor, a nice lead in the decisive set.
“It's a very big boost for your confidence,” she said. “Now I actually feel like I belong here and that I can be really one of the top players.”
Bencic became the first unseeded player to win the tournament since 80th-ranked Serena Williams did so in 2011. Williams’s ranking had dropped because she missed time due to a pulmonary embolism.
Bencic was the underdog in nearly every match she played in Toronto and certainly wasn’t the fan favourite in some of them.
She opened the tournament against Bouchard and endured a Williams-friendly crowd in Saturday’s semifinal.
There was no question which player most fans were supporting on Sunday.
The dozens of spectators that waved Romanian flags also chanted “Si-mon-a; Si-mon-a” after nearly every point.
Things even got contentious late in the second set when one man openly encouraged Bencic to double-fault after a missed first serve.
Bencic did so and then sarcastically applauded the man.
With the match on serve at 5-5, Bencic then hit a forehand wide to give Halep a break-point chance. The crowd erupted and then got louder when Halep won the next point.
But Bencic said she enjoyed the atmosphere in Toronto, suggesting “I think some people in some other tournaments should take an example from here.”
“I don't see that they are against me,” she said. “I just see that they are rooting for her and I think it's normal in the tennis match that people have their faves and like people they don't like so much.
“I really wasn't so bothered. Also, if you are in a match, you don't hear it so much like maybe you do.”
Bencic now moves on to Cincinnati, where she’ll play Angelique Kerber on Tuesday.
She hopes to continue the upward trajectory had saw her go from 212th-ranked in the world at the end of 2013 to the newcomer of the year last year.
She asked what her ranking is now and was surprised when a reporter answered “12.”
“Twelve,” she said.
Her eyebrows rose and she gasped and smiled.
“No way. Wow.”
