Belinda Bencic led Switzerland into its first United Cup final after a heroic performance against Belgium in the searing heat of Sydney on Saturday.
It’s easy to find the energy with this team. It’s great to play with Belinda. Hats off to her to play for almost three hours and then come out for the doubles. And great job by Stan to keep Zizou as long as possible on the court. Jakub Paul
After surviving a third-set tiebreak in the opening singles against Elise Mertens, Bencic teamed up with Jakub Paul to win their 3rd decisive mixed doubles of the tournament by defeating Mertens & Zizou Bergs, 6-3 0-6 [10-5] after regrouping from a second-set collapse, in which they won just 12 points.
In the first tight semi-final tie of the mixed team competition, Bencic kept her undefeated season-opening run at the United Cup in tact in dramatic fashion on Saturday, as she outlasted Mertens, 6-3 4-6 7-6(0), to put Switzerland up 1-0, but Belgium’s Zizou Bergs recorded a gruelling 6-3 6-7(4) 6-3 win over Stan Wawrinka in the brutal Sydney heat to level proceedings, sending matters into a deciding mixed doubles.
28-year old Bencic, the mother of 21-month-old daughter Bella, has won all 4 singles and all 4 mixed doubles matches during the event.
Mertens had beaten Bencic in their only previous meeting, back in 2021, and had had tough back-to-back tussles against Canada’s Victoria Mboko and Barbora Krejcikova from Czechia, after a straight-sets win over China’s Zhu Lin, while the Swiss was in imperious form, and had not come close to losing a set against France’s Leolia Jeanjean, Jasmine Paolini from Italy and Argentine Solana Sierra to lead her country into the Last 4.
Belinda Bencic (L) was pushed the distance by Belgium’s Elise Mertens but prevailed to put Switzerland 1-0 up in the United Cup semi-final
© David Gray/AFP via Getty Images
The Swiss was 2 games away from an uncomplicated 6-3 6-4 win when Mertens pushed the match the distance, the Belgian denying Bencic by levelling the second set at 5-5, before breaking serve to make it a set all.
It set the stage for a dramatic decider, in which Mertens came from 1-3 down, saved a pair of break points that would have given Bencic a 4-1 lead, and was just 2 points away from the win with the Swiss serving at 30-30, down 5-6.
Bencic, though, won the last 9 points of the match following a decision to change her racket to a freshly-strung one, wrapping up the match with a bagelled breaker after 2 hours and 37 minutes.
“It feels like 170 kilos fell off my shoulders, I was so stressed… I really wanted to do well, and, today, I felt so much pressure to not let my team down,” Bencic admitted afterwards.
About the sudden racket change, she confessed: “My brain turned off, and let my instincts take over.
“I think it was just a feeling, and I played with my back against the wall. I was really focused on myself, on breathing, and I’m super happy that I stayed tough in the important moments.”
Belgium’s Zizou Bergs levelled the tie with Switzerland with a gruelling 3-set win over Stan Wawrinka on Saturday in the searing heat of Sydney
© David Gray/AFP via Getty Images
Next up came the men’s singles, and Belgian Zizou Bergs sent the semi-final into a deciding mixed doubles after grinding out a 3-set win over Stan Wawrinka in the brutal 41-degree Sydney heat.
Backing up his consecutive wins over World No 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and No 18 Jakub Mensik from Czechia, Bergs rallied from 40-0 on Wawrinka’s serve at 4-3 in the third set to claim the decisive break, seemingly out of nowhere, in a match that had featured just 6 break points to that stage.
Wawrinka, the 40-year-old 3-time Grand Slam champion, has played inspired tennis to kick off his farewell season, but breaking serve just once across 4 matches has proven costly as he slipped to 1-3 in singles matches during the tournament.
“Stan played really well and I really had to battle it out today,” Bergs said. “It was hard to control the ball on return, and he served very good; it was very hard for me. To get rhythm is very tough. I’m just happy I found the solution.”
Jakub Paul & Belinda Bencic recovered from a bagel second set against Elise Mertens & Zizou Bergs to win a place for Switzerland in the United Cup final by taking the mixed match breaker
© Jason McCawley/Getty Images
Appropriately, it all came down to the doubles, pitching Bencic & Jakub Paul against Mertens & Bergs to decide who would advance to Sunday’s final, and, in the first set of Saturday’s mixed, Bencic won both deciding points on her serve when Mertens failed to put a return in play.
Paul, the World doubles No 81, who won just 6 tour-level doubles matches last year, rose to the occasion, poaching with confidence, and striking several down-the-line winners at crucial moments.
Bencic & Paul have won all 3 mixed rubbers, two of them tie-clinching, this week, and despite anchoring the team’s path to the final with 8 wins, Bencic was quick to praise others on her team, especially her unheralded mixed partner, Paul.
“He’s so brave it’s unbelievable,” Bencic said. “I tell him to go [for it] and he actually goes. It’s crazy.
“The team spirit is amazing, and it starts with the captain [Wawrinka]. He’s supporting all throughout my match, and then he goes out to play his own match, and then he’s back to support the doubles. It starts with him, but then, with all the energy from our bench, it gives us such a spirit to win.”
Paul added: “It’s easy to find the energy with this team. It’s great to play with Belinda. Hats off to her to play for almost three hours and then come out for the doubles. And great job by Stan to keep Zizou as long as possible on the court.”
In Sunday’s final inside Ken Rosewall Arena, the Swiss will play the winner of tonight’s second semi-final between defending champions, United States, and two-time finalists, Poland.