CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Belinda Bencic rallied to beat second-seeded Paula Badosa 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Credit One Charleston Open.
No. 4 Ons Jabeur also reached the final four in the season's opening clay-court event, beating Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-2. Also on to the semis were Ekaterina Alexandrova, a 6-0, 6-2 winner over Magda Linette and 15th-seeded Amanda Anisimova, who defeated U.S. countrywoman CoCo Vandeweghe 6-1, 6-2.
Badosa, of Spain, was up a set and 4-2 in the second when Bencic, of Switzerland, found her rhythm. Bencic took a 5-4 lead and held on to force the tiebreaker. She took control there, winning five of the final six points to tie up the match.
The final set was tied at 4-all when Bencic, who won Olympic gold in singles at Tokyo last summer, took control for good. She hit a service winner to set up match point then celebrated when Babosa's final shot went into the net. It was Bencic's first win over the world's third-ranked player in four tries.
"I felt very uncomfortable the first set and half," Bencic said. "I was just trying to hang on to my service games with the wind. I felt like I needed to get my game together and make it harder for her."