July 31, (THEWILL) – The 24-year old Belinda Bencic lay prostrate and held her hands to her face in joyous reaction after the epic battle she fought to defeat co-finalist Marketa Vondrousova 7-5 2-6 6-3 to win the women’s singles tennis gold at the ongoing Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Bencic was overwhelmed by the herculean effort the feat required. It was an uphill battle for the Swiss ninth seed against Vondrousova, who had upset 2nd seed and home favourite Naomi Osaka, by eliminating her in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals.
The tough first set alone lasted nearly an hour as both finalists played an unyielding game of tennis with the gold medal in mind. Finally, Bencic triumphed 7-5 as she benefitted from three breaks of serve against Vondrousova.
However, Bencic could not build on that because her Czech opponent hit straight back. Vondrousova repeatedly broke the serve of the Swiss player to create a remarkable 5-1 lead. Eventually, Bencic was able to hold her serve but it was to late as Vondrousova served to claim a 6-2 second set victory.
The Czech’s game in the second set produced a suspenseful mood for the third set. Vondrousova raked up 14 winners compared to just four of Bencic in the set and they were level going into the decider with the advantage very much in the Vondrousova’s corner.
The third set was patchy from the start but each player held tenaciously to their serve. There was not much to separate both with a tough return and still tougher service game. But, Bencic broke first to get a 3-1 lead going. She had her sights and one hand on the gold before Vondrousova broke her serve in return.
Bencic was 4-3 up in the deciding set when she called for a medical timeout. The Spaniard needed to be treated on what appeared to be a problem with the big toe of her right foot. After it was taped up, she returned to the court to see out the final.
Moving more freely, Bencic raced into a 5-3 lead, before the chance came for her to serve out the match. There was a slight opening for Vondrousova to break Bencic back but the Swiss rallied to get back to deuce, before moving into an advantage of her own.
She collapsed in joy after two and half hours when she got the point that gave her a 6-3 victory, the win of the final and the gold medal. The world number 12 had made history by becoming the first Swiss woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
