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Iga Swiatek of Poland plays a backhand during her Women’s Singles fourth round match against Anett Kontaveit of Estonia on day eight of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
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Iga Swiatek of Poland plays a backhand during her Women’s Singles fourth round match against Anett Kontaveit of Estonia on day eight of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
After making an ignominious third-round exit at the Australian Open, Swiss tennis star Belinda Bencic has extracted a measure of redemption by reaching the final of the ongoing WTA Adelaide.
However, between the World Number 12 and a fifth career WTA Tour title stands reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek.
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While Bencic fought past American teen star Coco Gauff to set up a final date on Saturday, Swiatek stormed into the final with a straight-set rout of another rising Swiss star, Jil Teichmann.
Carrying her form at the Australian Open where she reached the fourth round before bowing out to two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep, the Pole hasn’t dropped a set in her march to the final of WTA Adelaide.
Iga Swiatek and Belinda Bencic have never played each other before
Purely on the recent run of form and results, the 18th-ranked Swiatek, who clinched her maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open last year, would, perhaps, start as the favorite going into the final.
What will make for an absorbing battle for the championship is that the two have never played each other before.
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Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 11, 2021 Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in action during her second round match against Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova REUTERS/Loren Elliott
While one doubts if either would have wished to set up their first meeting in a tournament final, it would be an intriguing battle as the two stars pit their individual skills against each other to battle for the title.
Iga Swiatek and Belinda Bencic will trust their individual skills going into the final
With no head-to-head record to use as a reference point, both will focus on their individual strengths and hope to dish out more of the same that has got them to the title clash.
During her incredible championship run at Roland-Garros, the 19-year-old Swiatek had impressed one and all with her powerful groundstrokes and attacking forays into the net.
The fact that she didn’t lose a single set in the entire tournament testified to the supreme self-confidence and belief with which she went into her matches at Roland-Garros.
However, Bencic has the game to match the Pole and could be a handful on her day.
Read More: Belinda Bencic Ends Coco Gauff’s Fairytale Run at WTA Adelaide International 2021
While calling the tie in favor of either would be a fool’s errand, one hopes the contest makes for one heck of a final.
