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by Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, February 12, 2023
Belinda Bencic saved three championship points to win her Abramovich 1-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 victory over Lyudmila Samsonova in the tiebreaker Zabi’s eighth title.
Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty
walls are closing Belinda Bencic As she eyed Abu Dhabi’s three championship points.
Pulling on her visor, Bencic brought the house down with a determined comeback.
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Bencic fights back from cliff edge, misses three in tiebreaker Lyudmila Samsonova 1-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 with a thrilling Abu Dhabi fight back to claim her eighth career title.
What a comeback 😱@BelindaBencic Fighting back from the brink to seal her eighth career WTA title! 🔄#MubadalaAbuDhabiOpen pic.twitter.com/3Id72ODF6C
— wta (@WTA) February 12, 2023
It was Bencic’s first win in four fights against Samsonova, who put herself in the lead but fell for the first time in five career finals.
“It was a very intense game today,” Bencic said after the game. “I also want to congratulate Liudmila and her team. She played great. It was a great fight today. I’m happy to finally beat you after losing to you 3 times last year.”
“I’m so happy to finally beat you, after last year!” 🤗@BelindaBencic | #MubadalaAbuDhabiOpen pic.twitter.com/41xJZJk8Jt
— wta (@WTA) February 12, 2023
The explosive Samsonova has always been a tennis finisher, and the championship trophy is hanging in the balance. Samsonova came into the game with a 4-0 Finals record and was in the lead, finished with a strong start and bounced back from 2-5 down in the second set to go 6-4, 6- 5 and 8-7 for the Championship Points tiebreaker.
The second-seeded Swiss did not surrender, and she withstood fierce baseline fire to claim her second title of the year following her triumph at the Adelaide International 2 last month.
The Olympic gold medalist is tied with Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka at 12-2 this season and leads the WTA victories in 2023. This is the fifth WTA 500 title of Bencic’s career, and she has not come easily.
It was a gut-wrenching loss for Samsonova, who lit up the pitch with the winner, nearly double Bencic’s winner, and thanked and congratulated the fans after the game Bencic.
“Of course, it was a fantastic final. I’m very happy to be here today, thank you very much,” Samsonova told the crowd after the painful loss. “Last year was an amazing year and I’m really grateful for another final this year.
“Many, many congratulations to Belinda and her team for an amazing year as well. It was great to hear the crowd cheering for me. Thank you so much for cheering me on, I appreciate it.”
Samsonova, who reached her fourth final in the last 10 events, continued her strong form. At this time last year, Samsonova was No. 34. The final put Samsonova at No. 15 in the field rankings, a new career high.
The nervousness on both sides was palpable as the Finals kicked off.
Eighth-seeded Samsonova dished out two double faults in her opening match – matching her total in a three-set semifinal win over Zheng Qinwen yesterday – and faced a break point, but she won with a Superb forehand off the line hold.
The Samsonova forehand is a ferocious weapon based on her skill at creating spin, power and fast racquet head acceleration. Samsonova gave the Swiss stylist the experience of breaking Bencic’s stroke with a cross-line forehand pass in her first service game.
Samsonova extended the court into both corners with a deep forehand, confidently supporting the break. World No. 19 Ace consolidated T to 3-0.
Bencic managed to get on the board with her first possession, but the Swiss was struggling with Samsonova’s bumpy forehand, which bounced off the court to trap the second seed in the unremarkable Location.
While the Swiss was adept at crossing the baseline, dribbling up and changing the pace of his opponents, Bencic barely had time to blink in the storm of shots unleashed by Samsonova.
Six games into the match, Bencic muttered as he conceded, trying to slow down Samsonova’s fast track. That was a temporary reprieve as Samsonova pulled her opponent away with a sharp-angled backhand cross and spun a forehand into the open ground she created to break again at 5-1.
Some devastating blows are just outside the gate 💥@LiudaSamsonova Abu Dhabi leads Bencic 6-1!#MubadalaAbuDhabiOpen pic.twitter.com/eO9hpdK4kI
— wta (@WTA) February 12, 2023
Samsonova’s forehand is easily captivating because it’s fluid, powerful and versatile. Samsonova could kill two birds with one stone and showed her two-handed strike to close out the 35-minute first set, leaving the Olympic gold medalist looking a bit stunned. Samsonova hit 16 winners in the opener — 11 more than Bencic — to seal her seven-game winning streak in the final.
The only thing Samsonova didn’t do well in the first set was her first serve. The 5-foot-11 Samsonova served just 36 percent of the time, but was virtually unbeatable on her first serve as she won eight of her nine first-serve points in the first set. .
Knowing she needed to keep the ball away from her opponent’s forehand, Bencic began the second set by attacking with deeper depth while trying to push Samsonova wide to defend her backhand.
Desperate to stop the bleeding, Bencic started the second set as hard as she could. The Swiss then hit some deep comebacks and coaxed a double fault for his first break point since Game 1. Samsonova broke the threat with a powerful serve.
After two rounds, Bencic scored a break point again with a sharp two-handed cross. Samsonova saved the ball, but missed a forehand from the slash and faced a second break point in the fourth game. This time, the Swiss hit the front foot, forced Samsonova to defend her backhand and equalized the error to break serve for the first time in a 3-1 scoreline.
Trust Bencic’s tenacity to stick to the line, refusing to back down even when he was hammered in the first set. Bencic timed the ball well, hitting the ball deeper and finding errors from Samsonova, who committed eight in her first five games, and in A total of five turnovers were committed in the first set of seven matches. Bencic made it 4-1 when Samsonova hit a forehand.
Bencic missed a few shots on serve in the 5-3 second set and paid the price, as Samsonova swept the blow with 30 points. Samsonova had two break points when Bencic netted her trademark two-handed shot.
Samsonova made a squat error at 4-5 and returned to serve after Samsonova hit back at Bencic’s right back. Samsonova was strong to stay level after 10 games, firing her seventh ace.
Feeling the pressure from Samsonova, Bencic became testy when her serve was wrongly called. Replays showed it landed on the line. Bencic argued that she should have earned a point because of the return error, but referee Maria Sikak ruled the ball went first. Samsonova breaks serve with a forehand. Bencic digs deep from love-40 and even draws.
An emotional Bencic saved three break points with a backhand cross from the touchline to seal a tough game at 6-5.
Samsonova took a step inside the serve line for a routinely high forehand but tightened up and slammed the ball into the net to trail 15-30. Bencic was just two points away from the final set, but Samsonova raised her level to force the tiebreaker into a decider.
Bencic’s beautiful defensive lob pushes Samsonova back to the baseline. Samsonova moved back at the shot and the Swiss got her first small break. Samsonova hit a backhand into the net for a mini-break before blasting 111 mph to tie it 3-3.
The pressure sparked Bencic’s third double fault and Samsonova broke serve for the first time at 5-4.
Samsonova scored two points with a diagonal forehand winner.
Bencic knocked back a serve, hit back deep and hit a forehand on the first championship point.
On the second championship point, Bencic hit the net line, kept his cool, then grabbed the baseline for a tight 12-shot rally to win 6-6. Bencic’s backhand gave Switzerland a 7-6 tally, but she squandered it with her trademark strike.
A forehand miss and Bencic bounced her Yonex cue off the field in frustration facing the third title point.
Every time Bencic teetered on the precipice of failure, she fought back with determination.
In the longest encounter of the game, Bencic fought off everything that came her way to tie the score at 8-8. Bencic hit wide serve to win the second set point 9-8.
keep playing 🤯@BelindaBencic A 7-6(8) counterattack against Samsonova won the second set.#MubadalaAbuDhabiOpen pic.twitter.com/LF0Uo2t5su
— The Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) February 12, 2023
A stubborn Bencic returned the ball from the middle and caused a turnover. Bencic fought back from the brink of three championship points to take it to the decider after two hours of action. Samsonova, who had 21 turnovers in the second set, dipped slightly in the set, but it was thanks to Bencic’s heroic fight and refusal to lose that she scored in the dramatic 82nd minute. Winning in two sets.
Whether she was fatigued from the longest game of the year or troubled by a failure to convert championship points, Samsonova played one of her sloppiest serve games of the night, yanking a forehand to the Wide forehand to make it 2-1 for Bencic.
The two teamed up for three consecutive breaks, with Bencic winning eight of nine points on Samsonova’s serve for a 3-2 lead. Bencic broke serve with a 4-2 diagonal forehand behind his opponent.
In the serve game, Bencic reversed 15-30 to get the championship point. Bencic hit a forehand off the baseline to extend the score, and Bencic netted a forehand to complete an exhilarating comeback.
The Olympic gold medalist put on a competitive character and emotional battle in 2 hours and 48 minutes.
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