The five-year wait: Bencic returns to US Open quarters

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Was a week with Roger Federer at the Hopman Cup a good omen for Bencic? Perhaps. Not too long after winning that exhibition team event, Bencic began roaring up the rankings thanks to two impressive performances.

In Dubai, the 5’ 9’’ right-hander won four successive matches in three-sets over Top 10 opposition to raise the trophy. She immediately backed up that triumph at Indian Wells, where she posted her first win over defending champion Osaka and added a sixth Top-10 victory over Karolina Pliskova to reach the semifinals.

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Bencic’s second defeat of Osaka in the Madrid quarterfinals cemented her return to the Top 15. She added a title match appearance in Mallorca, relinquishing three championship points to Sofia Kenin, and found mixed results after that loss as she made her way to this year’s US Open. Perhaps flying under the radar in the first week, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see Bencic foil Osaka’s title defense once again with her tremendous counterpunching abilities.

Now, with the Top 4 seeds out, is it Bencic’s time for a major moment? The 22-year-old will meet Donna Vekic, who won their French Open clash earlier this year, for a place in the semifinals.

On Monday, Belinda Bencic ousted reigning US Open champion Naomi Osaka, 7-5, 6-4, to secure her third victory over the world No. 1 this season. With her win, Bencic advanced to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since reaching the last eight at the New York major five years ago when she was 17.

So much has happened with Bencic in-between those runs. Here’s a look back at her journey:

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An extremely gifted junior who would reach No. 1, it was no surprise to see Bencic break out in Flushing Meadows in 2014. In her US Open debut, the 17-year-old scored wins over Top-10 players Angelique Kerber (No. 7) and Jelena Jankovic (No. 10) before her bid was ended in the quarterfinals by Peng Shuai. After contesting her first WTA final in Tianjin, China, Bencic was named the WTA’s Newcomer of the Year.

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Less than a year later, Bencic made her biggest splash in Toronto. In a stunning run to the trophy, Bencic knocked off four Top-10 foes, including No. 1-ranked Serena Williams in the semifinals and world No. 3 Simona Halep in the final. She returned to New York as a viable contender, but was outplayed by seven-time major singles winner Venus Williams in a third-round defeat.

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The next three seasons were marred by injury setbacks. In 2016, after cracking the Top 10, Bencic was unable to play the European clay-court swing due to a back injury. At Wimbledon, she retired during her second-round match due to a wrist injury. Nine months later in April of 2017, Bencic underwent surgery on her left wrist, missing five months of action.

Having returned for the last portion of the season with three successive titles in Asia—two at the WTA 125K Series level to go with an ITF W100 tournament—Bencic had reason to believe 2018 would be different. But the injury bug struck again in March, as a pre-stress fracture in her foot kept her away until Roland Garros.

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Her best major result in 2018 came at Wimbledon, where she defeated No. 6 Caroline Garcia and saved four match points to edge Alison Riske en route to the round of 16. A strong finish to the year, highlighted by a runner-up finish in Luxembourg and an ITF $80k title in Las Vegas, provided the Swiss reason once again that she was ready for a resurgence.

5

Was a week with Roger Federer at the Hopman Cup a good omen for Bencic? Perhaps. Not too long after winning that exhibition team event, Bencic began roaring up the rankings thanks to two impressive performances.

In Dubai, the 5’ 9’’ right-hander won four successive matches in three-sets over Top 10 opposition to raise the trophy. She immediately backed up that triumph at Indian Wells, where she posted her first win over defending champion Osaka and added a sixth Top-10 victory over Karolina Pliskova to reach the semifinals.

6

Bencic’s second defeat of Osaka in the Madrid quarterfinals cemented her return to the Top 15. She added a title match appearance in Mallorca, relinquishing three championship points to Sofia Kenin, and found mixed results after that loss as she made her way to this year’s US Open. Perhaps flying under the radar in the first week, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see Bencic foil Osaka’s title defense once again with her tremendous counterpunching abilities.

Now, with the Top 4 seeds out, is it Bencic’s time for a major moment? The 22-year-old will meet Donna Vekic, who won their French Open clash earlier this year, for a place in the semifinals.