TORONTO – In a surprising turn of events, top-seeded Serena Williams won’t be playing in Sunday’s Rogers Cup final.
The tennis star was hamstrung by service problems and inconsistent play in the evening match against Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic on Centre Court. Williams has been dominant this season – winning the first three Grand Slams this year – but a rare off-night left her with a 43-2 mark on the season.
“I think I played really crappy today,” Williams told reporters on Saturday. “I’ll try to be politically correct. And I don’t think you would disagree.”
Bencic smashed through her competition, starting with Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard and finishing most recently with a performance she’ll never forget, stunning the top-ranked American 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 for the biggest win of her career.
“I can’t describe the feeling right now,” Bencic said. “I was very overwhelmed from the situation on the court, but I’m just so happy the (winning) forehand landed in and she couldn’t reach it anymore.
“It was an incredible feeling. I have no words.”
Bencic will play second-seeded Simona Halep in the final at the US$2.51-million tournament. Halep beat 15th-seeded Sara Errani of Italy 6-4, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
With nerves and tension building, Bencic nearly let the third set slip away. She stormed out to a 5-1 lead but Williams picked up two breaks – sealing the second one on a double-fault – to get back on serve.
“I was very nervous in that moment,” Bencic said. “But I told myself today is my chance and I really have to stay focused and be mentally tough, even if I didn’t do it on the first try.”
Bencic didn’t quit despite her opponent’s renewed focus. In the final game, she delivered a driving backhand that Williams couldn’t return to get to match point and delivered a stinging forehand winner to seal the victory.
The 18-year-old was as surprised as anyone in the near-capacity crowd at the 8,000-seat venue. A wide-eyed Bencic put her hands to her face and squatted down as the crowd roared.
The two players smiled as they shook hands and Bencic cried tears of joy in her courtside chair as fireworks went off in the distance.
“This is why I worked for 15 years,” she said. “I mean the practice is not always easy. It was hard, it was tough. Sometimes I didn’t want to and sometimes you feel very motivated. And all this work paid off today I think and this feeling is indescribable.”
The right-handed Williams played with a bandaged middle finger on her left hand. She called it a ‘sprain,’ suffered after she slipped and fell in her quarter-final win over Roberta Vinci a night earlier.
With files from Global’s Rebecca Joseph.
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