As Belinda Bencic has become more well-known, she’s had to do more interviews with journalists and broadcasters.
And she said that, at times, it can be difficult.
The 18-year-old Swiss is now ranked No. 14. Last summer she stunned No. 1 Serena Williams and No. 2 Simona Halep to win the title in Toronto. Since then, she has attracted more attention and been seen as one of the tour's top up-and-comers.
“It's the press, the other people,” said Bencic, who has reached the quarterfinals in Sydney. “It's really not easy. You read a lot of comments and news and everything. But the people expect you to win the first matches and then to compete against the top players. For me every opponent [is] very difficult and every match starts from new."
“So I really try to focus on that, and I'm happy my team and everyone keeps me on the ground, and we just focus on my game on the court and not what was last year or the expectations.”
Bencic also said that she would be surprised if any of the top players pull out of the Australian Open. In the past eight days, almost the entire Top 10— Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza, Agnieszka Radwańska, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Lucie Safarova, and now Angelique Kerber—has withdrawn from tournaments.
Kerber reached the final in Brisbane and received medical attention during her first-round win in Sydney on Monday. She pulled out the next day, saying she wasn’t feel well.
"I don't want to risk my health before Melbourne,” the German said.
Halep, who pulled out of Brisbane, is playing in Sydney.
Bencic said that while she expects all of the players to compete at the Australian Open, it is a bit odd.
“Yeah, it's crazy,” she said. “It's like everyone from [the] Top 10 withdraws. I'm happy I'm OK to play. I feel very good after a good off-season. I think in the new year, you're supposed to be ready and healthy. Obviously it's a tough schedule all year. It's a lot of tournaments. If you start the year like this, then [it] can only get worse. I'm also a little bit shocked about that. For sure they will be playing there.
"They don't want to risk anything and [will] try to be ready for Melbourne. For sure they won't retire there.”