Sydney, Jan 10 (IANS) Belinda Bencic starred in a decisive role by delivering wins in both singles and mixed doubles as Switzerland reached their first-ever final in the United Cup mixed-gender tennis tournament, defeating Belgium in the semifinal and propelling her team to the brink of a historic title on Saturday.

The tournament organisers brought forward the start of play by 30 minutes due to extreme heat, with temperatures forecast to reach 43 degrees Celsius in Sydney.

The Swiss team started well, with Bencic extending her golden start to the season by overcoming Elise Mertens 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(0) to give Switzerland a 1-0 lead. However, Belgium forced the contest into a decider after Zizou Bergs defeated Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3 at the Ken Rosewall Arena. Wawrinka, who has announced plans to retire at the end of the season, was broken in the eighth game of the final set, allowing his opponent to close out the match.

Bencic had not dropped a set in her first three United Cup matches and appeared on course for another straight-sets win before Mertens mounted a strong fightback. The Belgian rallied from 3-1 down in the deciding set and came within two points of victory while serving at 6-5. However, Bencic switched to a freshly strung racket and won the final nine points of the match to clinch the contest after two hours and 37 minutes.

Saturday's win was also a revenge of sorts for Bencic, as Mertens had defeated her in their only previous meeting back in 2021. But on Saturday, the 28-year-old Bencic, who came into the clash in impervious form, with a 6-0 record across Switzerland's first three ties. She had not even come close to losing a set against Leolia Jeanjean, Jasmine Paolini, and Solana Sierra to lead Switzerland to the final four.

As the singles competition was level at 1-1, it all came down to the mixed doubles, where Bencic continued her sensational run and paired with Jakub Paul to guide Switzerland into the final after defeating Belgium’s Elise Mertens and Zizou Bergs 6-3, 0-6, 10-5 in the deciding match. Switzerland will now face the winner of the United States vs Poland match in the final.

--IANS

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