Belinda Bencic wins Abu Dhabi Open 2023, claims eighth title
What's the story
Second-seeded Belinda Bencic overpowered eighth-seeded Liudmila Samsonova to win the women's singles title at the Abu Dhabi Open 2023 on Sunday.
The Swiss ace overcame her rival 1-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 to lift the WTA 500 crown.
Notably, Bencic claimed her eighth singles title, including an Olympic gold, besides her second of the season, having won the Adelaide International 2 last month.
Here's more.
Stats
Key stats from the match
Bencic fired only three aces to Samsonova's 10. She also conceded five double faults to Samsonova's two.
Bencic converted 3/7 of her break points. She collected 91 points in the match, including 56 from serves. She had a win percentage of 69 and 53 on her first and second serves, respectively.
Information
Bencic betters her record versus Samsonova
Bencic clinched her maiden WTA win over Samsonova. She now holds a 1-3 record in this regard. The pair last met at the 2021 BJK Cup Finals, with the latter prevailing in three sets.
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A look at Bencic's journey in the tournament
Bencic bested Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 7-5 in the opening round. She beat American Shelby Rogers 7-6(5), 6-2 in the quarter-finals. Bencic breezed past Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2, 6-3 in the semi-finals. She earned a hard-fought win over Samsonova in the final.
2023
Bencic's record in 2023
As per WTA, Bencic now owns a 12-2 win-loss record in women's singles this season. Her only defeats have come against World number one Iga Swiatek in the United Cup and Aryna Sabalenka in R16 at the Australian Open 2023. The latter went on to win the tournament.
Bencic (12) now has the most WTA tour-level wins in 2023, surpassing Sabalenka (11).
Achievements
A look at her career achievements
As stated, Bencic is now an eight-time singles titlist (2023 - Adelaide 2, Abu Dhabi; 2022 - Charleston; 2021 - Olympics; 2019 - Dubai, Moscow; 2015 - Eastbourne, Toronto).
She has been a runner-up on nine occasions (2022 - Berlin; 2021 - Adelaide, Berlin; 2019 - Mallorca; 2018 - Luxembourg; 2016 - St. Petersburg; 2015 - 's-Hertogenbosch, Tokyo [Pan Pacific]; 2014 - Tianjin).