By Ros Satar
- Heather Watson def. Elina Svitolina [15] 4-6 6-3 7-6(4)
- Watson v Belinda Bencic [22] | H2H: Watson leads 1-0 (excl. exhibition matches)
MIAMI, USA – Heather Watson stunned Elina Svitolina to reach the third round for the first time since 2016.
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Heather Watson def. Elina Svitolina [15] 4-6 6-3 7-6(4)
That Elina Svitolina can even take to a court at all with everything going on in her homeland Ukraine is remarkable, and she started the match confidently, breaking Heather Watson in the first game, only to be pegged back, and even found herself a break down to Watson in the first set.
Svitolina rallied to break twice to take the first set, and at the start of the second set, a flurry of breaks put Watson in the driving seat. The Brit kept her nerve to keep her advantage to level up the match.
A brace of breaks at the start and the end of the decider led to a tie-break, with Watson saving a match point along the way. The momentum switched during the tie-break from a quick start for Svitolina to her handing two mini-breaks to Watson. The Brit converted on her own match-point to earn a spot in the third round for the first time since 2016.
H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Heather Watson v Belinda Bencic [22] | H2H: Watson leads 1-0 (excl. exhos) |
| WTA Miami | Florida, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $54,400 |
| First on Court 7 at 11am (3pm GMT) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2022 – Hard)
| H2H: | Heather Watson (WR 115) | Belinda Bencic (WR 28) |
| Tournament Previous Best | R16 (2016) | R16 (2015) |
| 1st Serve Return Points Won % | 37.6 | 33.3 |
| Return Points Won % | 44.2 | 42.4 |
| Break Point Conversion % | 49 | 49.1 |
| Break Points Saved % | 48.1 | 60 |
| Total Points Won % | 50.9 | 51.7 |
While Watson’s return stats are stronger, she lags behind in terms of being able to make good on fending off break-points.
Playing Styles & Prediction
Both players, when on their game, have the kind of court smarts that make a tennis match more like a strategic game of chess, but Watson’s up and down consistency has always been the issue. Belinda Bencic likes to take the ball early, has an effective serve and ground-strokes and likes to play aggressively, so Watson will need to mix things up to try and give Bencic different look on the ball. Watson has played less of the passive games of last year, where she appeared to be waiting for errors, and hopefully she can keep that tremd going.
Bencic is a little win shy, much like Watson, so there is a lot at stake here.
Prediction: Bencic in three sets.
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