"I was heartbroken" Bencic recalls losing maiden semi-final as 17-year old after reaching another in Charleston

Belinda Bencic defeated Paula Badosa 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 in a dramatic match securing the semifinal in Charleston for the first time in her career.

It comes after Bencic posted her season-best result in Miami last week where she also played in the semifinal. It was a dramatic win over Badosa as the Swiss player dropped the first set but rallied to take the 2nd despite being a break behind. She then outplayed her opponent down the stretch for the huge win. After the match, Bencic said:

"It was a big fight. I'm just going to try to recover. But I'm happy with the way I played, with the way I fought, and I'm happy to get another match here."

It's another semifinal for Bencic who has an emotional attachment to that particular stage of an event. She recalls her professional debut as a 17-year old on tour when she was able to reach her maiden semifinal. She lost and remembers how crushed she was thinking she was never going to get the chance again:

"When I lost that semifinal, I was so heartbroken," said Bencic. "I thought that's going to be my only chance, this was it and this was maybe my only semifinal. "My team and other people, they were telling me, 'No, this is just the start. You will play more semifinals and more tournaments.' So I feel like this completely kicked off my career."

Bencic's run this week is even more remarkable considering she was nearly ousted in the first round. Bencic was two points away from defeat before outlasting Wang Xiyu in her opening match.