Swiss teen Belinda Bencic defeated world No. 3 Simona Halep 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 3-0 ret. on Sunday to win her maiden Rogers Cup presented by National Bank title – her biggest career trophy to date. Halep was forced to retire when she was down 0-3 in the deciding set.
In tough conditions on a steamy afternoon in Toronto, the two athletes battled for a remarkable two hours and 30 minutes. It looked like Bencic might take the match in straight-sets, but Halep rallied to force a second-set tiebreaker and ultimately a third set. Trailing by three games in the final set, Halep was spent and could no longer continue.
In her first-ever appearance at Rogers Cup, Bencic made a huge splash by defeating four Top 10 players during the week. The 18-year-old eliminated Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard in her opener, former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the second round, former Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki in the third, and another former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic in the quarters before upsetting world No. 1 Serena Williams in the semifinal. Her semifinal win was only Williams’ second loss of the year and made Bencic the youngest player in more than 10 years (a 17-year-old Maria Sharapova in 2004) to defeat Williams.
Another impressive stat – every single player she beat en route to the title was a former Grand Slam champion or finalist. Currently ranked world No. 20, when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday Bencic will break into the Top 15 for the first time in her career. She now also holds the top spot in the Emirates Airline US Open Series.
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