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Olympic gold medalist, Belinda Bencic, reached the last eight at Indian Wells by conquering home favorite Coco Gauff in three sets in the fourth round.
Bencic entered the tournament as a wild card entry and has now booked her spot in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open. It has been an impressive journey for the 28-year-old mother. She defeated the 13th seed Diana Shnaider, another seeded American Amanda Anisiomova, and Tatjana Maria in the previous rounds.
The Swiss missed the last edition due to her pregnancy but has not looked back since her return on the tour this season. She has curated some impressive performances this season already after her maternity break. She clinched a WTA 500 title in Abu Dhabi, reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, and is now enjoying a dominant run at the Indian Wells Masters.
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In an on-court interview after her victory over the third seed, Bencic shared her feelings regarding the win and insights about her mindset after becoming a mother.
“Yeah, of course I always tell myself it doesn’t matter if I win this match, I have already won in life. I have a beautiful family and everything that I can be happy for. Obviously, I still want to win tennis matches and still my dream, but definitely my priorities have changed. And yeah, it’s just very beautiful and I am very blessed in my life,” she said.
Bencic has set an example for all the mothers in the world, that they can pursue their passion while embracing motherhood. She acknowledged that her priorities in life have changed but the will to win matches is still alive.
Her fear of losing a tennis match is out of the equation, which is helping her to play with a fearless approach, making her more dangerous on the tennis court and contributing to a lot of success. This is Bencic’s second-best appearance at the Indian Wells, showing the kind of tennis she is playing this season.
Belinda Bencic on playing against Coco Gauff
Belinda Bencic framed an excellent comeback win against the World No. 3, Coco Gauff in the fourth round. She lost the first set to her 3-6 and then won the next two 6-3, 6-4. Bencic is considered one of the most tactically smart players on the tour and that’s what she portrayed in this match. After dropping the first set, she bounced back strongly and secured the victory.
In the on-court interview, Bencic was further asked about her experience playing Gauff and how she managed to win the match.
“Yeah, I mean it’s a big challenge playing Coco of course. There are reasons why she is No. 3 in the world and as high as No. 2 and won the US Open. So, its very difficult to play against her and I felt like it was until the last moment that the match kind of you know went one way. I definitely tried to improve a little bit from the first set, what I did tactically. But yeah, otherwise just try to fight and hang in there,” she replied.
The 28-year-old mother credited Gauff for her achievements and explained that she did not feel comfortable till the last point of the match. She heads to the quarterfinal round with a lot of confidence and will face one of Donna Vekic or Madison Keys, on March 13.
