Agnieszka Radwanska and Belinda Bencic had met once before this year, and coincidentally in another final—that of Eastbourne. It was Bencic who defeated the Polish player then, but today Radwanska seemed more ready to undo the Swiss teenager and get her revenge. She adjusted her game to pull off a near perfect performance to beat Bencic in straight sets, 6-2 6-2. 

She hit a solid 28 winners to just 15 unforced errors, showcasing some seriously aggressive play as was required against an opponent as difficult as the rising star Bencic, and broke the Swiss five times in the match to cement her victory. Bencic was also solid with her winner count which reached 21, but her twenty three unforced errors were costly. Here is a deeper look at what went down during each set. 

Aga capitalizes to take the first set

The first set started off close, with both players holding their service games rather convincingly to start off proceedings. Bencic seemed to be impressive with her 76 percent first serves in, but the Polish player took her chance as soon as it came at 2-2. She broke Bencic to go up a break and then consolidated convincingly. Despite only having her 57 percent first serves go in, she did not let Bencic gain a single break point opportunity in the set, which worked in her favor as she was able to capitalize on return games confidently. She broke Bencic again and reeled off four games in a row to take the opening set 6-2. She was hitting with extreme focus and pace, much to Bencic's frustration, which resulted in some tremendous winners in the set, 17 to be precise.

Radwanska steamrolls in the second

Radwanska's movements and placement of the ball were sublime in every sense, especially in the second set. The ball always seemed just out of reach for the Swiss as Radwanska would push to aggressively handle the teenager. In this set, she even improved her service stats, taking her first serve percentage up and hitting three aces.

The Polish player was relentless from the get go of the second set, not allowing any form of a comeback as she raced ahead to a 4-0 lead. However, Bencic was not going to bow out quietly as she emphatically won the next two games, breaking the Radwanska serve for the first time during proceedings. Radwanska seemed to be in a hurry, however, as she regained focus and won the next two games, breaking the Swiss serve for a third time in the set to clinch it 6-2 and win the match.

This is the second time Radwanska has won the tournament at Tokyo, and after having a rough year, she can be very happy with her excellent performance and consequent victory today against a worthy opponent. She is projected to go back into the WTA top-10 rankings now, and will be back in the race to qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Mariam Khan
Lover of all things tennis.