Belinda Bencic in conversation with the media before the Dubai Open. (Getty Images)
Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic faces world No. 51 Yulia Putintseva in the group stage of the United Cup on Thursday.
The world No. 12 won 42 matches in 2022 while having lost 18. She added one more title to her trophy cabinet. Bencic won the Charleston Open after defeating Ons Jabeur in the final. This was her first title win on the WTA Tour on clay. She also defeated big names like Madison Keys and Paula Badosa in the tournament.
In the German Open, Bencic finished runner-up after losing to Jabeur. However, en route to the final, she defeated top players like Veronika Kudermetova and Maria Sakkari. She played her last tournament of the season at the Guadalajara Open. Entering the tournament as the 10th seed, the 25-year-old lost to Sloane Stephens in the round of 32.
The 27-year-old began the year at the No. 42 ranking. She ended the year at No. 51. She failed to improve her ranking due to her inconsistent performances. Out of the 47 matches she played on the tour, she only managed to win 26 and lost 21.
Some of her better performances came at the Istanbul Cup and the Canadian Open. In Istanbul, she made it to the semis, where she lost to qualifier Anastasia Potapova. In Montreal, she made it to her second quarterfinal at WTA 1000 level by beating Paula Badosa, by retirement, and Alison Riske-Amritraj.
Yulia Putintseva and Belinda Bencic have faced each other on 5 occasions. The former has a 3-2 lead in the head-to-head scoreline. Their most recent meeting was in Doha in 2020 and the Swiss won the match in straight sets.
Prediction: Belinda Bencic to win in three sets.
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