Belinda Bencic outlasts Leylah Fernandez in late-night Guadalajara marathon thriller

World No.14 Belinda Bencic was forced to dig deep on Monday night at the Guadalajara Open Akron, surviving a second set collapse to defeat Leylah Fernandez and advance to the second round.

The Swiss star pulled off the 7-5 6-7(10) 6-3 victory in a battle that could have gone either way, as both ladies exchanged breaks several times in the see-saw encounter. Bencic was the stronger player in the opening set, outhitting her Canadian opponent to prevent a first set tiebreak.

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Nonetheless, Fernandez rediscovered her rhythm in the second, as she eventually served for the set at 5-4. However, the 2021 US Open runner-up was unable to seal the deal, allowing the 10th seed back into the match. This lead to a tiebreak that saw Bencic squander three match points, with Fernandez finally capitalizing on her mini-break opportunity to clinch the set and force a decider.

Despite the crowd firmly rooting for the Canadian, it was Bencic who obtained an early break to lead 2-0. However, the former World No.4 struggled with her serve, a problem that had bothered her the entire match. The Swiss star committed a total of 13 double faults, with five coming in the final set. Although this allowed Fernandez to break back, the 20-year old was unable to minimize the errors in her game. This led to Bencic obtaining another break, before serving out the match after two hours and 45 minutes.

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Having notched her first win in three tries against Fernandez, Bencic will move on to face American Sloane Stephens in the second round.

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Holding strong 💪 @BelindaBencic picks up her first win over Fernandez and needed three sets to do so! #GDLOPENAKRON

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