She's a wonder kid with Czechoslovakian origins who represents Switzerland. Plus, she happens to be trained by none other than mother-genius herself, Melanie Molitor. Did you figure out who I'm talking about? No, it's not Martina Hingis although you are very close. It's the little Swiss Miss: Hingis' protegee, the uber-talented Belinda Bencic who made headlines at this year's US Open by reaching her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Bencic has long been a huge promise and, after winning last year's Roland Garros-Wimbledon juniors singles double, the Swiss already proved she was ready to make the transition to the big stages. At just 17-year-old, Belinda made the semifinals of the Premier-event in Charleston and the third round at Wimbledon. However, it was her stunning Flushing Meadows campaign that got everyone talking.
Showing a mixture of court smartness and fierce groundstrokes, the little Swiss Miss caused a slew of upsets taking out 31st-seeded Kurumi Nara, 7th-seeded Angelique Kerber, and 9th-seeded Jelena Jankovic en route to the last eight.
The resemblence to Hingis is striking not just in her game, but also in her personality, both possessing tremendous star quality. And with Hingis cheering from the crowd, Bencic put on a fierce display to stun former world No.1 in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium. “It was always a dream to play on this court,’’ she confessed. “I was overwhelmed. Everything was so huge.”
By beating Jankovic, the Swiss became the youngest quarterfinalist at a major since Nicole Vaidisova at the 2006 French Open and the youngest at the US Open since Hingis in 1997. And with the bottom half losing its favourites—Halep lost to Lucic-Baroni, Radwanska to Peng, Venus Williams to Errani, and Sharapova to Wozniacki—Bencic's draw is quite open. Next up for teen sensation is a clash with Chinese Shuai Peng, with the winner going on to face Wozniacki or Errani. If she can keep up a stunning form, the Swiss has a good chance of making the final. It would actually be extremely interesting to see a Bouchard-Bencic showdown in Saturday's finale. She and Eugenie Bouchard are such amazing prospects for the women's game. They're both extremely young, hungry, utterly competitive, plus they have huge fanbases. But let's hold our horses. Bencic needs to take it match by match and to celebrate this achievement. Vive la petite Swiss Miss!
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| Bencic kept the upsets going taking out former world No.1, Jelena Jankovic, 7-6,6-3 to reach her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal. |
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