WIMBLEDON, England — For a while Saturday afternoon at Wimbledon, Belinda Bencic's dream ticket appeared to be slipping away. She won the French Open girls' title last month, but that final was played on a back court at Roland Garros in front of a smattering of spectators. Wimbledon, on the other hand, offers the juniors a bigger stage, and a slightly star-struck Bencic, 16, walked out onto a packed Court 1 to face the big hitting 17-year-old Taylor Townsend.
Townsend has already enjoyed a taste of the big time, having played Ana Ivanovic at Indian Wells earlier this year, and early Saturday that experience appeared to be making a difference. With Bencic's serves barely landing halfway up the net, Townsend sensed her opportunity, racing to a 4-0 lead in 15 minutes, ripping her returns off either side and producing the kind of all-court tennis that helped her claim the Australian Open girls' title last year.
But there is a reason the Swiss Bencic has been unbeatable so far this year on the junior tour: she has developed a champion's knack of finding solutions when she is down. She came from behind to win an epic clash with the American Townsend, 9-7, in the third set at the French Open and beat her again at Roehampton a week ago. She has also had a 35-match winning streak since last December and that sense of invincibility undoubtedly gave her belief Saturday as she regained her composure on her way to a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory.
While Bencic tends to hit in straight lines, Townsend has a wicked cross-court forehand that she uses to pull her opponents out of court. Like all the best left-handers, she is able to whip up copious quantities of topspin, enabling her to find the most exquisite of angles, and for a while she made her opponent look flat-footed.
"On grass it's really tough to play against her," Bencic said. "She has a lot of spin in her serve and the topspin balls, on the grass, it just rolls so fast."
Townsend on the other hand seemed to panic. After surviving a Bencic rally to edge out a first-set win, her game disintegrated in the second as Bencic found more first serves and began to retrieve more balls.
Townsend caught a bit of a second wind, taking a 3-1 lead at the start of the third set. But still Bencic refused to be beaten, showing her willpower to win three tight games and then breaking serve at 4-4. After more than two hours of intense tennis, Bencic hammered down two serves over 100 miles per hour to bring up three championship points before clinching victory on the second with a backhand winner.
"When I served for the match, I don't know what happened, but it was amazing game," she said.
Bencic's exploits are starting to catch the attention of various tournaments, and she said that she was offered a wild card into the Swedish Open in Bastad later this month. The good news for her junior rivals is that her focus is already turning to the far harsher environment of the professional circuit. Her father — who shares coaching duties along with Melanie Molitor, the mother of Martina Hingis — said she would play only a handful more junior tournaments before focusing on the main tour starting in 2014.
As Hingis said in an interview earlier this week, Bencic has a long road ahead but she has the tools to go far, and in Molitor she has a coach with all the experience necessary to guide her through the pitfalls over the coming years.
But for now, Bencic can reap the rewards of her success.
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