Belinda Bencic produced a spirited performance to beat Petra Kvitova 6-3 1-6 6-4 and give herself a great chance of qualifying from the Red Group at the 2019 WTA Finals in Shenzhen.
The Swiss, 22, had only beaten the Czech once before and she had to dig deep to beat her again after Kvitova over-powered her in the second set.
“It’s so difficult for me to play Petra,” Bencic said in her on-court interview. “Her game is really big and her shots are big, so I didn’t get much rhythm. I’m so happy I kept my nerves calm at the end.”
She continued, “I’m so happy with this season already, just to make it here. Of course I wanted to win a match here and I’m happy I did today.”
Calm Bencic wins opener but Kvitova fights back
The first set of the match passed without major incident until the seventh game. At 30-all, Bencic played a superb point to force an error from Kvitova. The Swiss then profited from a sloppy error from the Czech to earn the first break.
The World No.6 went on the attack in the next game, but the World No.7 withstood the barrage to move 5-3 ahead. Bencic then hit a stunning forehand winner down the line as she broke Kvitova again to seal the opening set.
As expected, the Czech responded well in the second set. She broke the Swiss in the first game and raced into a 4-0 lead thanks to several trademark winners and a dip in intensity from her opponent.
Bencic stopped the rot when she won game five. However, it was only a brief respite as Kvitova blazed her way through the next two games to level the match at one-set-all.
Breaks galore in the final set
Everything seemed set for a dramatic decider, and the players did not disappoint. In game three, the Czech made two double faults and reacted by throwing her racket to the floor in disgust. The Swiss then hit an unreturnable backhand to secure the break.
However, Bencic failed to take advantage in the next game. She played passively and paid the price as Kvitova broke her easily.
But the twists and turns did not stop there. The Czech gifted Bencic two break points in game five with her ninth and tenth double faults of the match. And the Swiss gratefully accepted the second one when she punished a short ball from the Czech with a forehand winner.
Once again, the World No.6 responded immediately. She stepped inside the court as much as possible and attacked anything remotely short from the 2019 US Open semi-finalist.
Kvitova’s bravery earned her the break she needed to level the score at 3-3. She then held to put the pressure firmly on Bencic, before cranking up the heat on the Swiss even more by forcing a break point.
Bencic produces her best tennis when it matters
The World No.7 has demonstrated plenty of times in her career that she is good at producing her best tennis in tense situations, and she did it again in Shenzhen.
First, Bencic hit a superb wide serve that Kvitova could not return. Then she won the next two points with a minimum of fuss to restore parity on the scoreboard once again.
From then on, the Swiss player was in the zone. She capitalised on poor serving from the Czech and dragged her all around the court to set up three break points.
Kvitova saved two with a trademark forehand winner. But she could do nothing about the third when Bencic punished a short second serve with a deadly-accurate cross-court backhand winner.
When she was serving for the match, the World No.7 made no mistakes. She lost one point to an improbable winner from the two-time Grand Slam champion, but she kept her composure to clinch a crucial win.
Barring an extraordinary sequence of events, Bencic will have to beat Kiki Bertens in her final Red Group match to qualify for the semi-finals.
It promises to be an intriguing encounter, and the fact that the Swiss just pipped the Dutchwoman to the last place at the WTA Finals gives it even more spice.
