Belinda Bencic is through to the 3rd round at the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells. The player from St. Gallen beat Amanda Anisimova (WTA 18) 6:4, 6:7 (3:7), 6:1 in just under two and a half hours.
09.03.2025, 07:28
09.03.2025, 07:34
SDA
Bencic (WTA 58) could have won in two sets against the 23-year-old American, who triumphed in Doha in mid-February. However, when she served to win the match at 6:5 and was still two points away from victory, she lost nine of the next twelve points. In the end, the 2021 Olympic champion clearly won the deciding set.
Bencic mainly made the difference with her second serve and the returns on it. While Anisimova only won 35 percent of the points when she failed to get her first service into the court, Bencic kept the rate well above 50 percent. "I'm very happy with my performance," she said. "It was a difficult match. I could have finished it in two sets, but Anisimova played well at the end of the second set. I stayed strong and showed fighting spirit in the third set."
Thanks to the second win in the fourth duel with the offensive player Anisimova, Bencic has 15 wins and four defeats in 2025. Her next opponent is the Russian Diana Shnaider (WTA 13). The 20-year-old made a name for herself last year with four titles and reaching the round of 16 at the US Open, but has yet to really get going this season. However, she only dropped two games against American Alycia Parks in the second round of Indian Wells.
