Belinda Bencic has become the first Swiss woman in history to reach an Olympic singles final after battling her way past Elena Rybakina in a gruelling encounter.
The world No.12 went down a break twice in the final set but managed to fight back to win 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-3, after more than two-and-a-half hours of roller-coaster tennis. Bencic hit a total of 26 winners against 34 unforced errors but crucially managed to break the Rybakina serve six times in total. It is the third time she has reached a final this year after doing so at WTA events in Adelaide and Berlin. However, the significance of her latest achievement is one she is relishing.
“My emotions right now… it’s too high. To have a medal, it’s the greatest thing. Even to be here as an athlete, in the Olympics, it’s amazing,” Bencic said via the Olympic News Service.
“To have a medal, it’s something I dreamed of, and I didn’t think it would become reality. I’m beyond relieved and happy.”
Rybakina is the third consecutive seed to be beaten by the 24-year-old. Earlier in the tournament she also scored wins over Barbora Krejčíková and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who both contested the French Open final in June.
Now guaranteed at least a silver medal in Tokyo, Bencic is hoping to become the first female Swiss player to win an Olympic gold. The only players from her country to have ever done so are Marc Rosset (1992) in singles, as well as Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka (2008) in the doubles.
“I don’t think this question is legitimate right now because … I don’t feel pressure right now. I just feel joy to have a medal. For me, it’s the greatest thing in the world,” she replied when questioned on the prospect of winning gold.
Bencic will also play in the doubles semi-final with Viktorija Golubic. Should she win that match she would become only the fifth player – male or female – to reach the final of both singles and doubles at the Olympics since the sport returned in 1988.
In the singles final Bencic will play either No.4 seed Elina Svitolina or Marketa Vondrousova.
