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World No. 9 Belinda Bencic came back from the brink to overcome an opponent she had never beaten before to claim her second Hologic WTA title at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open Tour singles champion of the year.
No. 2 seed Bencic saved three championship points in the second-set tie-break before going 1-6, 7-6(8), 6- 4 defeated No. 8 seed Samsonova. Bencic claimed her eighth career WTA singles title with a comeback win.
“It was a very tight game and I’m happy to turn those match points around,” Bencic said after the victory. “I’m just really trying to hang in there and go for every point and give my best.
“I’m really happy to win the title here, I think I played some really good games, but it was tough. I showed myself that I can really work hard, just stay in the game and somehow turn the tide”
By numbers: Switzerland’s Bencic is now the tour leader in wins this season with 12. She passed Australian Open champion Alina Sabalenka, who won her first 11 matches in 2023.
Bencic joins Sabalenka as the only two-time champions so far this year.She adds the Abu Dhabi crown to Her Adelaide International 2 title last month.
To achieve that goal, Bencic must earn her first win over Samsonova in four tries. Samsonova won her first career title by beating Bencic in the 2021 Berlin final and went on to beat the Swiss twice more that year in the Luxembourg final and the Billie Jean Gold Cup final .
Doha draw breakdown: Swatek No. 1 seed, Bencic continue Middle East swing
With Sunday’s victory, Bencic not only defeated Samsonova for the first time, but also ended Samsonova’s unbeaten streak in WTA singles finals. World No. 19 Samsonova made a perfect 4-0 in the Tour Championship before this match.
crucial moment: Samsonova was impeccable in the first set, with just five unforced errors in 16 game winners. But Bencic persevered in a tense second set and pressed on, saving three break points at 5-5 with her strongest serve and shot of the day.
In the second-set tie-break, Samsonova won the championship points 6-4, 6-5, 8-7, but Bencic withstood every chance and took control before making a mistake. Then, on Bencic’s second set at 9-8, Samsonova hit a backhand into the net.
In the third set, Bencic forced another error with a forehand to make it 3-2, and she held on from there to win. Samsonova finished with 20 more winners than Bencic, but Bencic had 19 fewer unforced errors than her opponent.
Stephanie and Zhang Doubles Champions: Luisa Stephanie and Zhang Shuai beat Shuko Aoyama and Chen Haoqing 3-6, 6-2 to claim the Abu Dhabi doubles title earlier on Sunday. [10-8] An hour and a half later.
The former WTA doubles world No. 2 won her 13th WTA doubles title with the victory. Zhang, a two-time Grand Slam champion in women’s doubles, won the 2019 Australian Open and 2021 US Open with Samantha Stosur.
Stephanie has won as many as seven WTA doubles titles in her career. She continued her incredible comeback after a full year off from an ACL injury at the 2021 US Open.
Stephanie has won four WTA doubles titles since returning last September. She also won her first Grand Slam title last month, winning the Australian Open mixed doubles trophy alongside her fellow Brazilian Rafael Matos.
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