Elena Vesnina and Belinda Bencic met for the first time in their careers. As well as getting the better of their opponent in their first ever match, both players also had other reasons to want to win. Vesnina would have wanted to win to keep up her good run of form, where she had won four matches in a row prior to the match today. As for Bencic, she would have wanted to pick up the win to regain some confidence after a string of disappointing performances.
In the end though, it was Vesnina who prevailed in the match. Despite the fact Bencic was clearly hampered by an injury, nothing can be taken away from the performance of Vesnina. The Russian looked solid throughout the match and showed just what she is capable of.
Vesnina In Control
Vesnina got off to a strong start, as she picked up an early break in the set. After opening the match by holding her service game, the Russian made the most of some poor play by Bencic to take her first break point and put herself 2-0 up in the set.
The deciding factor in the set came in the third game, when Bencic failed to take her break point opportunity. The young Swiss player worked herself into a position to break straight back, however Vesnina fought off the break point and after some strong play, Vesnina took the game.
Bencic found herself in a downward spiral, and she soon fell even further behind in the match. Vesnina raced to a 15-40 lead, giving herself two break point opportunities. Bencic saved one of them, but despite her best efforts she could not do anything to stop Vesnina taking the second. The Russian continued her dominance in the set, as she consolidated the break after a string of good shots.
In the sixth game, Bencic battled her way onto the scoreboard. The world number ten fought off Vesnina's two set point chances, before finding a way to hold her serve and win her first game of the match. This was too little too late for Bencic though, as in the very next game Vesnina closed out the set. The Russian did not faulter as she comfortably won her service game and put herself a set up.
Bencic Struggles To Move, As Vesnina Cruises Through The Set
Bencic got off to a much better start in the second set, as she won the opening game. The 19-year-old comfortably held her serve to love and it looked like the set was going to be a lot closer than the first. Unfortunately for Bencic, she was soon facing an uphill struggle as Vesnina continued her dominance.
The Russian player went ahead in the set in the third game, as she broke Bencic once again. Clearly hampered by an injury, Bencic was struggling to get around the court and Vesnina made the most of this, playing shots that Bencic would have to run to if she wanted to reach them.
For the remainder of the set, it was all going Vesnina's way. The Russian looked comfortable on court and played some good tennis. After putting herself 4-1 up in the set, Vesnina soon found herself having to fight off a break point from Bencic in the sixth game. Luckily for the Russian, Bencic hit a error which took the score to deuce, and allowed Vesnina to regain control of the game, before she eventually held her serve.
The match was over in the very next game, as Bencic failed to hold her serve to keep herself in the set. After a string of poor serves and shots from Bencic, along with some big hitting from Vesnina, the Russian found herself with a match point opportunity. Vesnina only needed the one chance, and she took the game, set and match in under an hour.
After cruising through the match in 56 minutes, Vesnina progressed to the third round where she will face Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino.