Belinda Bencic making her mentor Martina Hingis proud as she prepares for clash with Victoria Azarenka at Wimbledon 2015
Fact
Switzerland star Belinda Bencic used to tag of 'new Martina Hingis'
The 18-year-old faces Victoria Azarenka in last 16 on Monday
Bencic is mentored by former Wimbledon champion Hingis
Belinda Bencic has long been used to being branded with the tag ‘the new Martina Hingis’.
The similarities between the pupil and mentor are there. Bencic was born and raised in Switzerland and is of Slovakian descent like Hingis.
The 18-year-old is also showing how talented she already is by reaching the second week of Wimbledon, following up on her first WTA tour title at the Aegon International in Eastbourne.
While their games are strikingly similar, Bencic was never going to emulate Hingis by winning Wimbledon at the age of 16, such was the unique occurrence of that famous victory in 1997. Ironically, at the same age, Bencic did triumph at the All England Club in the junior girls’ singles in 2013.
On Monday, Bencic takes on Victoria Azarenka for a place in the last eight. Hingis will hope to be there in Bencic’s player’s box on Court 12 once again, providing her own doubles match has finished by then.
Bencic is coached by her father Ivan, but has been mentored by Hingis and her mother, Melanie Molitor, since the age of seven. When Bencic won in Eastbourne, Hingis stayed behind on the south coast for an extra day to show her support. Hingis told Sportsmail: ‘Whenever I get the chance to watch her and be there for her, I am.
‘My mother is even more involved because she has been helping her for the last 10 years. She has done all the work behind the scenes, to teach her how to play and how to do things. I only get the cherry on top.’
Hingis is delighted to see Bencic’s grass court game come together. Bencic may have already reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam on the hard courts of New York at last year’s US Open, but Hingis feels she is at her best on the British lawn.
Hingis said: ‘She loves the grass. I think that’s definitely the surface she has been most looking forward to.’
Bencic now bids to beat a former world No 1 for the third time, after previous career wins against Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic.
Hingis said: ‘I think she has a great chance to win that match. I wouldn’t consider Azarenka’s game to be the best on grass.’
The last 5 matches of Victoria Azarenka
03.07.2015 Kristina Mladenovic - Victoria Azarenka 0:2 W
01.07.2015 Kirsten Flipkens - Victoria Azarenka 0:2 W
29.06.2015 Anett Kontaveit - Victoria Azarenka 0:2 W
25.06.2014 Victoria Azarenka - Bojana Jovanovski 1:2 L
23.06.2014 Victoria Azarenka - Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 2:0 W
The last 5 matches of Belinda Bencic
03.07.2015 Belinda Bencic - Bethanie Mattek-Sands 2:0 W
01.07.2015 Belinda Bencic - Anna-Lena Friedsam 2:1 W
29.06.2015 Belinda Bencic - Tsvetana Pironkova 2:1 W
28.06.2014 Simona Halep - Belinda Bencic 2:0 L
24.06.2014 Belinda Bencic - Magdalena Rybarikova 2:1 W
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Tennis
