By Tennis Now | Monday, October 9, 2017
Wild card Belinda Bencic fought off a match point and Kirsten Flipkens, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7) in Linz, earning her first WTA main-draw win since March.
Photo credit: Upper Austria Ladies Linz Facebook
Belinda Bencic is back with a bang.
Bencic fought off a match point in the third-set tie break edging Kirsten Flipkens, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7) thriller in Linz.
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It was a breakthrough victory for Bencic, who earned her first WTA main-draw win since she defeated Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-4, 6-1, in the opening round of Indian Wells last March.
The 20-year-old Swiss, who underwent left wrist surgery, has battled a variety of injuries this season that knocked her off the tour for five months.
Injury-induced inactivity has caused the former world No. 7’s ranking to fall to No. 228, but Bencic is getting back on the winning track.
Last month, Bencic beat 2016 Wimbledon girls' runner-up Dayana Yastremska to win the ITF $100,000 St. Petersburg title. She won eight of nine matches during a recent stint on the ITF level, advancing to the ITF $25,000 Clermont-Ferrand semifinals.
Bencic took a 3-1 lead in the decisive tie break, eventually extending to 5-3.
Flipkens fought off a match point at 5-6 then held match point at 7-6 before Bencic answered with three points in a row to close a gripping two hour, 19-minute victory.
The Swiss wild card will play Lara Arruabarrena in the round of 16.
The 80th-ranked Spaniard held a 1-6, 6-1, 2-0 lead when eighth-seeded opponent Monica Niculescu retired from their opener after 91 minutes.
Johanna Larsson was a 7-6 (6), 6-4 victor over Jana Cepelova. Larsson will play either Kiki Bertens or Varvara Lepchenko in the second round.