TENNIS – In 1997 Martina Hingis won three Grand Slams title and in the same year a girl that is now expected to take her legacy was born: Belinda Bencic. Giulio Gasparin
Aged 17, the Swiss has already reached the third round of a slam in Wimbledon and this week has reached her highest ranking at number 62.
Countless articles has already been written on the promising future of the 2013 Roland Garros and Wimbledon junior champion, but what happened last night in her opening match of Istanbul was something hardly anyone could predict.
She was set to face the former world number one and first seed Caroline Wozniacki, in a match that many experts had seen as a chance for a big win for the Swiss, as the days of the prime Wozniacki seemed long gone.
On the contrary, the Dane came out on top of her abilities and with a sensational performance obliterated the little resistance that Bencic could put up.
In 39 minutes, Wozniacki closed the match with a double bagel, a 6-0 6-0 that represent the first ever received by the talented Swiss.
What does that mean? Probably nothing more than the easiest conclusion: Bencic is young and though her talent is undeniable, she does not posses the experience of the former world number one, who played a brilliant match.
Surely it is hard to take it so easily, but many of the current stars of the WTA have suffered brutal beat-downs during their young days.
The same Caroline Wozniacki should know it as in 2008, when still 17, she was left with a single game by Maria Sharapova in Doha.
Sharapova had to face a couple of sever losses in her early days too: in 2002, aged 15, she played her first ever WTA event in Indian Wells, where in round two lost to Monica Seles 6-0 6-2. But the most remarkable loss in her career remains, again in Indian Wells, the only loss she suffered by the hands on Lindsey Davenport, who annihilated her in the semifinals 6-0 6-0.
It was 2005 and, contrary to Bencic yesterday, she had already won her first major at Wimbledon.
Another future world number one had to prove herself after a “bagel and breadstick” loss in her early years on tour: Dinara Safina made her slam debut on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows, when she was left with no games won by the eventual champion Serena Williams 6-0 6-1.
A 19-year-old Simona Halep also faced a big defeat by the hands of Sam Stosur at Roland Garros, when she lost 6-0 6-2. Three years later, Halep reached her first slam and Roland Garros final challenging Sharapova till the very end.
All these players, who were and still are part of the best of this game, happened to face a reality check in the first years as pros, when the experience of great champions was simply too big for them to handle.
In some cases, it did not even take great champions on the other side of the net, like Agnieszka Radwanska probably would argue, as she was defeated by a good player, but not a big talent, like Martina Muller 6-1 6-0 in the qualifications of Paris indoor in 2007.
A similar example goes for Ana Ivanovic, when, still 16, lost 6-1 6-1 to Sofia Arvidsson in Luxemburg.
So what does that mean for Bencic? As simple as that, Wozniacki played better, a lot better, but this does not change anything for her future hopes of becoming a star of this sport.