Belinda Bencic praised her ‘fighting spirit’ as she battled past Polona Hercog 1-6 6-3 6-4 to keep her WTA Finals hopes alive.
The world number 10 showed her resilience and determination as she fought back from 3-0 down in the deciding set to reach the Moscow Quarter-Finals.
Although she struggled in the first set against the tall serving Slovenian, Bencic recovered with some big hitting to keep her WTA Finals hopes alive.
Speaking after the match, Bencic praised her fighting spirit as she reached the last eight in the Russian capital, “She has a difficult game style for me,” Bencic admitted to wtatennis.com.
“I don’t like it so much and I had a hard time adapting to it but I’m happy with my fighting spirit today. Everyone’s very tired now it’s the end of the season. It’s all about your mentality now. I’m trying to relax and play how I’ve played this season.”
Although the US Open semi-finalist may seem tired physically, she definitely isn’t showing her mental fatigue as she overcame a big obstacle to reach the last eight.
The Swiss needs to reach the final this week to guarantee herself a spot in Shenzhen in a couple of weeks time although a Serena Williams withdrawal could hand her the opportunity anyway.
Next for Bencic is Belgian qualifier Kirsten Flipkens after she edged out Dayana Yastremska 6-3 3-6 6-3 to set up a Friday quarter-final meeting.
