Belinda Bencic boosts Swiss hopes of a United Cup final after thrilling victory over Elise Mertens | ATP tour | Tennis

United Cup

Bencic boosts Swiss hopes of a United Cup final after a tense win over Mertens

Swiss captain Stan Wawrinka now has the chance to lead his team to the title
January 10, 2026

Belinda Bencic kept her unbeaten United Cup season opener intact in dramatic fashion on Saturday as she defeated Elise Mertens 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(0) to give Switzerland a 1-0 lead in the semi-finals.

Mertens defeated Bencic in their only previous meeting, in 2021, but the 28-year-old Bencic came into the tilt in a more impenetrable form, with a 6-0 record in Switzerland’s first three games. While Mertens had tough back-to-back battles against Victoria Mboko and Barbora Krejcikova after a straight-sets victory over Zhu Lin, Bencic had not come close to losing a set against Leolia Jeanjean, Jasmine Paolini and Solana Sierra to lead Switzerland into the last four.

She was two games away from an uncomplicated 6-3, 6-4 victory before Mertens pushed the match to the limit. But the Belgian then denied Bencic two chances to level the second set at 5-5 before breaking serve, claiming a set that saw her earlier 3-1 lead disappear.

That set the stage for a dramatic third set, in which Mertens came from 3-1 down, saved a pair of break points that could have given Bencic a 4-1 lead, and was two points away from victory, with Bencic serving at 30-30, trailing 6-5. But Bencic won the final nine points of the match after deciding at that point to replace her racket with a freshly strung one, clinching victory in 2 hours and 37 minutes.

“It feels like 170 kilos were lifted off my shoulders – I was so stressed; I really wanted to do well, and today I felt so much pressure not to let my team down,” Bencic said afterwards.

While changing rackets, she sheepishly admitted, “My brain switched off and let my instincts take over.”

“I think it was just a feeling, and I was playing with my back against the wall,” she added. “I was really focused on myself, on breathing, and I’m super happy that I stayed tough in the important moments.”

Stan Wawrinka will try to send the Swiss through to the final for the first time when he next faces Zizou Bergs.