The Swiss have held on in dramatic fashion as Belinda Bencic’s heroic performance in searing Sydney heat Saturday against Belgium has her country into their first United Cup final. Bencic is now 8-0 with four wins in singles and four wins with Jakub Paul in mixed doubles at the tournament.
Bencic, who defeated Elise Mertens 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (0) to give her country the initial lead in the tie, paired with Paul as the duo won their third deciding mixed doubles match, withstanding Mertens and Zizou Bergs 6-3, 0-6, [10-5].
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“He’s so brave it’s unbelievable,” Bencic said of Paul on court. “I tell him to go [for it] and he actually goes. It’s crazy.
“The team spirit is amazing and it starts with the captain (Stan Wawrinka). He’s supporting all throughout my match and then he goes out to play his own match and then he’s back to support the doubles. It starts with him but then with all the energy from our bench it gives us such a spirit to win.”
Switzerland will await the winner of the second semifinal tie between the United States and Poland, both finalists from the 2025 edition. Regardless, Bencic will have her first top 5 opponent, either against No. 2 Iga Swiatek or No. 4 Coco Gauff.
In dramatic fashion, Bencic outlasted Mertens in 2 hours and 37 minutes to put Switzerland up 1-0 in the semifinal tie. Mertens had beaten Bencic in their only previous meeting, back in 2021, but the 28-year-old Bencic came into the tilt in more impervious form, with a 6-0 record across Switzerland’s first three ties.
While Mertens had back-to-back tough tussles against Victoria Mboko and Barbora Krejcikova after a straight-sets win over Zhu Lin, Bencic hadn’t come close to losing a set against Leolia Jeanjean, Jasmine Paolini and Solana Sierra to lead Switzerland to the final four.
Bencic was two games away from an uncomplicated 6-3, 6-4 victory before Mertens pushed the match the distance. The Belgian denied her Swiss opponent two chances to knot the second set at 5-5 before breaking serve, claiming a set in which she previously saw a 3-1 lead erased.
Switzerland captain Stan Wawrinka wears a “Belinda’s World” T-shirt on the bench during Bencic’s match vs. Elise Mertens. Wawrinka received the shirt in Perth following a team trip to Kings Park. (Jimmie48/WTA)
That set the stage for a dramatic third set, in which Mertens came from 3-1 down, saved a pair of break points that would’ve given Bencic a 4-1 lead, and was two points away from the win with Bencic serving at 30-30, down 6-5.
But Bencic won the last nine points of the match following an in-the-moment decision to change her racquet to a freshly-strung one at that stage, wrapping up the victory.
“It feels like 170 kilos fell off my shoulders — I was so stressed; I really wanted to do well, and today I felt so much pressure to not let my team down,” Bencic said afterwards.
On the racquet change, she sheepishly confessed: “My brain turned off and let my instincts take over.”
Highlights: Bencic, Paul win decider vs. Belgium to send Swiss to United Cup final
“I think it was just a feeling, and I played with my back against the wall,” she added. “I was really focused on myself, on breathing, and I’m super happy that I stayed tough in the important moments.”
In men’s singles, backing up his consecutive wins over World No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime and No. 18 Jakub Mensik, Bergs rallied from 40-0 on Stan Wawrinka’s serve at 4-3 in the third set to claim the decisive break. The match had featured just six break points to that stage.
Wawrinka, the 40-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion in his 25th and final season, has played inspired tennis to kick off his farewell season, breaking serve just once across four matches has proved costly as he slipped to 1-3 in singles matches during the tournament.
“Stan played really well and I really had to battle it out today,” said Bergs, who won 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3. “It was hard to control the ball on return and he served very good; it was very hard for me. To get rhythm is very tough. I’m just happy I found the solution.”
Bergs erased the heartache of his last outing in the Davis Cup semifinals, when he let slip seven match points against Italian Flavio Cobolli while attempting to send the tie to a deciding doubles, but it would be the Swiss who emerged victorious.
