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Swiss Teenager Belinda Bencic Defeats Agnieszka Radwanska At Eastbourne, Claims First WTA Title

By Joe Chivers
Published on: 12:38 PST, Jun 27, 2015

The heroic ideal of all sports is that of the young warrior that rises to claim the gold — student becomes master in the blink of an eye, and that’s what 18-year-old Belinda Bencic achieved today. Just under two years ago, she won the girls’ championship at Wimbledon, and today Bencic achieved her first WTA title with a victory over 26-year-old Agnieszka Radwanska at the Eastbourne International final.

The win comes just two weeks after she lost the final of the Dutch Topshelf Open to Camila Giorgi.

Bencic defeated Radwanska with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 win, perfectly poised to hit the ground running at Wimbledon, which begins in two days’ time. Belinda’s first match of the tournament will be against Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, the world No. 47, with her own ranking now up to No. 21

Watched by her mentor and fellow Swiss star Martina Hingis, Belinda fought well, with the Daily Mail noting that her strong backhand gave her Polish opponent a great deal of trouble. A low point for Bencic came at the end of the second set, with the Guardian reporting that an overly long shot cost her the deciding game, a game in which she was at one point 30-0 ahead.

The game featured several staggering rallies, with one coming at the end of the second set. This was accompanied by another great rally, this one of 31 shots, which you can see below.

Speaking after the match, Belinda expressed her delight at claiming the Eastbourne International championship, the Guardian reports.

“It’s a dream come true that I’ve won my first WTA title, I’m so happy. I woke up very nervous but I just tried my best on the court”

Bencic also praised Hingis, saying that she gives her good advice, report CNN.

“Martina gives me a lot of good advice, not just this week but all the time. Also I practice with her mom, so she’s my coach when I’m back at home.”

Radwanska took her defeat with good grace, telling British sports journalist John Inverdale that she was happy to have got this far.

“I was very happy to reach the final here and tried my best, but she was better today.”

Bencic took to Twitter afterwards, posting a picture clasping her new hard-won silverware.

Winning the Eastbourne International has heralded great things for past players — Caroline Wozniacki claimed the title in 2009, just one year before she would be World No. 1. Could this be the start of great things for Belinda Bencic?

[Photo by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images for LTA]

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