The St. Galloise, who dominated the Dutch Suzan Lamens (WTA 77) 6-1 7-6 (7/3) in the 2nd round, will meet the former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka (WTA 51) in a duel of mothers Friday for a place in the round of 16.
Convincing in her first round against world number 22 Jelena Ostapenko, Belinda Bencic trembled as she finished against Suzan Lamens. She conceded the break while serving to win the match at 6-1 5-3, before missing two match points at 6-5 on the restart.
But the 2021 Olympic champion, who had dominated the proceedings in the first set with four successful breaks in four return games, did not miss her chance in the deciding game. She finally won in 1h40′ to sign her 14th success in 18 matches since her return to action last fall.
Guaranteed to gain some 100 additional places in the hierarchy thanks to this accession to the 3rd round, Belinda Bencic will therefore be entitled to a nice challenge on Friday. She leads 3-2 in her face-to-face with Naomi Osaka, who is struggling to find her best tennis since her return from maternity in January 2024.
