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| Belinda Bencic of Switzerland moments after beating Donna Vekic in the quarter-finals |
Belinda Bencic reached her first-ever Grand Slam semi-final on Wednesday, fending off Donna Vekic to win 7-6(5) 6-3 in their U.S. Open last-eight clash on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The pair appeared evenly matched through most of the first set, as Switzerlandโs Bencic struggled for consistency on serve, firing off five aces but committing four double faults.
The 13th seed took command of the match in the second set, committing just four unforced errors compared to 17 in the first.
Croatian Vekic fired 28 winners during the match but failed to save critical break points against her, as an elated Bencic reached a new milestone in an injury-plagued career.
โSometimes you all take it a little bit for granted,โ said the 22-year-old, who stunned world number one and defending champion Naomi Osaka earlier in the week. โWhen you canโt play you miss it so much.
โFor me itโs a perspective change and I am enjoying playing tennis so much now.โ
Bencic next plays either Canadaโs Bianca Andreescu or Belgiumโs Elise Mertens, who face off under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium later on Wednesday.
REUTERS
