Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic recorded her best result at a Grand Slam so far by defeating Croatia’s Donna Vekic in Wednesday’s quarterfinals at the US Open.
After eliminating world No.1 and defending champion Naomi Osaka, the 13th-seeded Bencic lost just six points on her first serve in a tight two-setter against first-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist and good friend Vekic for a 7-6(5) 6-3 win in one hour and 40 minutes.
It was the 23rd-seeded Vekic who first led by a break in the opening set, but Bencic recovered immediately and edged out the set on the fourth set point.
The second set went with serve until the seventh game when Bencic broke at love for a 4-3 lead. Even though Vekic saved two match points with winners on her own serve at 5-3, on the third match point the soon-to-be Croatian No.1 sent a ball wide and dropped serve one more time to hand her opponent the victory.
The other quarterfinal in the top half of the draw will be played later today between Canada’s Bianca Andreescu and Belgium’s Elise Mertens. The first US Open semifinal pair was determined yesterday: Serena Williams vs. Elina Svitolina.
