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Match Details
Fixture: (5) Belinda Bencic vs Taylor Townsend
Date: September 18, 2023
Tournament: Guadalajara Open 2023
Round: Second round (Round of 32)
Venue: Panamerican Tennis Center, Guadalajara, Mexico
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hardcourt
Prize money: $2,788,468
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK – Amazon Prime Video
Belinda Bencic vs Taylor Townsend preview
After a first-round bye, Belinda Bencic will take on Taylor Townsend in the second round of the 2023 Guadalajara Open on Monday.
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Bencic started the season on a positive note by winning the Adelaide International 2. She then made it to the fourth round of the Australian Open and captured her second title of the year at the Abu Dhabi Open after that.
After a few lukewarm results, Bencic reached her third final of the season at the Charleston Open, but lost to Ons Jabeur in the final. She was sidelined by an injury for the next few weeks and upon her return to the tour, lost in the first round of the French Open.
Bencic bounced back by making it to the fourth round of Wimbledon, followed by quarterfinals in Washington and Montreal. She reached the fourth round of the US Open as well. At last week's San Diego Open, she was upset by Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round.
Townsend was up against Ajla Tomljanovic in the first round. She jumped to a 4-2 lead in the opening set but squandered a couple of set points later on and got broken while trying to close out the set. The American then saved four set points herself to force a tie-break.
Townsend gained the upper hand in it to take the set. She trailed by a break in the second set but turned things around and bagged the last four games of the match to win 7-6 (3), 6-4.
Belinda Bencic vs Taylor Townsend head-to-head
Bencic leads Townsend 1-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2019 Charleston Open in straight sets.
Belinda Bencic vs Taylor Townsend odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Belinda Bencic vs Taylor Townsend prediction
Townsend edged past Tomljanovic in two tight sets. She saved nine of the 11 break points that she faced. Her serving stats were pretty decent too. Bencic has been quite consistent this season, so the American will need to raise her level even further going forward.
Bencic will be weary of Townsend's tactics, especially as the latter loves charging to the net to finish off points from time to time. The Swiss has a better serve compared to her opponent and has the potential to come out on top in most baseline exchanges.
While Townsend does have a couple of top 20 wins to her name this year, her overall record against them stands at 4-20. She has played some of her best tennis this season and could push her opponent to the limit. But Bencic should be able to survive a spirited challenge from the American to advance further.
Pick: Belinda Bencic to win in three sets.
