Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open: Bencic beats Haddad Maia to reach final
The Swiss will play the winner of the match between Chinese Qinwen Zheng and Russian Liudmila Samsonova, the No 8 seed, in the final
Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 17, 2023 Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic celebrates winning her first round match against Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova (AI/Reuters/Panoramic)
Second seed Belinda Bencic, of Switzerland, advanced to the final of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open by defeating Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, the No 6 seed, 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday.
Ahead of her semi-final win, the Swiss won against Ukrainian wildcard Marta Kostyuk (6-4, 7-5) and American qualifier Shelby Rogers (7-6 (5), 6-2).
Bencic, who has been working with Dmitry Tursunov since the end of 2022, has now won 11 matches in 2023, the most alongside Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka. She will be gunning for her second title of the year on Sunday, after winning in Adelaide in January.
Haddad Maia, ranked No 14, beat Czech Marie Bouzkova (4-6, 6-3, 6-0), Kazakh qualifier Yulia Putintseva (6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4)) and Kazakh Elena Rybakina, the No 3 seed (3-6, 6-3, 6-2) in the previous rounds.
Bencic, ranked No 9, will play the winner of the match between Chinese Qinwen Zheng and Russian Liudmila Samsonova, the No 8 seed, next.
People in this post
More tennis news
Rune pulls out of Stockholm quarter-final against Fritz with hamstring injury
ATP Finals draw: Zverev gets US Open final rematch with Shelton, Alcaraz drawn with Medvedev
November 12, 2007: The day Roger Federer suffered a second consecutive loss for the first time in four years
Sabalenka implodes again as Andreeva wins 11 straight games to reach WTA Finals semi-finals
Shevchenko recovers from a set down to oust Ruud and face Tirante in Stockholm