WTA roundup: Bencic upsets Svitolina to reach Dubai final

[February 23, 2019]  Switzerland's Belinda Bencic in action during the Semi Final against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina REUTERS/Satish Kumar
Belinda Bencic secured a spot in the final by stunning two-time champion Elina Svitolina 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3) on Friday at the Dubai Duty Free Championships in the United Arab Emirates.

Bencic trailed 5-3 in the final set before recovering to defeat the sixth-seeded Svitolina. She will face second-seeded Petra Kvitova in the championship match after the Czech Republic star defeated Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

"I think I'm always the most proud of how I fight," Bencic said after posting the victory. "Even when I lose, I learned myself to just look in the mirror and be proud of myself when I'm fighting, when I'm giving my all, when I'm trying to do what I have to do."

Bencic won eight consecutive points after Svitolina was in position to close out the match. Then the Switzerland native carried the momentum into the tiebreaker to notch one of the biggest victories of her career by outdueling the Ukrainian.

"Basically, I stayed in the zone, even in (the) tiebreak," Bencic said. "I was barely breathing, just playing automatic. You are not thinking any more. It's where the instincts just guide you through it."

Bencic will be seeking her third career title when she squares off with Kvitova, who will be shooting for her 27th.

Kvitova dropped the first set on Friday before recovering to win the last two.

"It was a tough one today, for sure," Kvitova said. "She really didn't give me anything for free. It was a tough first set. I'm glad that I was able to came back in the second. I didn't play great at the end of the first.

Switzerland's Belinda Bencic in action during the Semi Final against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina REUTERS/Satish Kumar

"I think I'm pleased with my kind of mental focus after losing the first set, that I was calmer when I came back and played from the beginning of the second set. I still kind of felt that I can do that somehow. I don't know. It was something weird."

Kvitova overcame eight double faults to claim the victory.

Hungarian Ladies Open

Top-seeded Alison Van Uytvanck defeated Ukraine's Kateryna Kozlova 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the semifinals in Budapest.

Van Uytvanck, of Belgium, will face fifth-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova in the semis. The Russian dispatched third-seeded Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier 6-3, 6-2.

Eighth-seeded Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic will face Russian Anastasia Potapova in the other semi. Vondrousova outlasted Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 while the 17-year-old Potapova fought past Romania's Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-5 in 2 hours, 50 minutes.

--Field Level Media

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.