Belinda Bencic in conversation with the media before the Dubai Open. (Getty Images)
8th seed Belinda Bencic locks horns with Russian qualifier Anna Kalinskaya in the round of 16 of the Adelaide International 2 on Wednesday.
The Olympic gold medalist had a great season in 2022 and also won the Charleston Open. Bencic also won the Billie Jean King Cup while representing Switzerland. In the United Cup, Bencic lost to Iga Swiatek in straight sets but gave the world No. 1 a tough time.
In the round of 32 of the Adelaide International 2, Bencic defeated Garbine Muguruza in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, marking her first win of the new season. This was Bencic’s third win against the Spanish veteran. Bencic hit as many as 10 aces in the match and had a staggering win percentage of 89 on the first serve.
The 24-year-old made it to the main draw with wins against Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Alison Riske-Amritraj in the qualifiers.
Kalinskaya squared off against former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the round of 32. The Latvian star was the favorite to win the contest. However, Kalinskaya managed to pull off a huge upset and defeated the experienced campaigner in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. Kalinskaya will look to improve her serves as she only had a win percentage of 56 on the first serves.
Belinda Bencic has a comfortable 2-0 lead over Anna Kalinskaya in the head-to-head scoreline at the moment. She defeated Kalinskaya in their most recent encounter in Berlin in 2022. The match ended in three sets 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 in favor of the Swiss star.
Prediction: Belinda Bencic to win in three sets.
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