The Australian Open 2021 is on course to become one of the most exciting tennis tournaments of the year. To reason it out, American World No. 73 Lauren Davis took Swiss World No. 12 Belinda Bencic to three sets in their first-round encounter.

With not much to differentiate between the two, the Swiss player qualified for the next round.

Both the players settled well on a fresh morning in Melbourne Park. As the first serve touched the air, they both meant serious business. Even though Belinda Bencic was a clear favorite, it is a major tournament, and no wins come easily.

Belinda Bencic wins the first set comfortably

The 23-year-old Swiss professional had a rough start to her 2021 season. Thus with setting foot on the court today, she wanted to feel more comfortable with her game.

However, Lauren Davis was openly aggressive and challenged the former World No.4 all around the court. Keeping her nerves in place, Belinda found a firm grip on the set and cleared the challenge easily.

Though the American did break her opponent’s serve, she couldn’t maintain that lead. As a result, the first set ended in favor of the Swiss player, 6-3.

After the match, Belinda said, “It was definitely a relief. It was far from what I wanted but it’s something that I expected. I expected not to play great.”

“At times, it was extremely frustrating because I know how I can play but I cannot show it. I tried to practice well but definitely didn’t feel the ball yet and not feeling well tennis-wise.”

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Lauren makes a comeback, but Belinda takes the game away

The American professional came into the second set with a renewed spirit. She served well and delivered some precise winners to stay in the match.

Unable to hold serve, Belinda gave away her comfortable spot in the match. After her first set, she did not do anything wrong, but she failed to level up with the opponent’s higher energy. The match leveled up at 6-3, 4-6.

However, Belinda regrouped herself and gave nothing away in the decider. Lauren, who came back stronger in the second set, failed to return the same way in the third. The final score was 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in favor of Belinda.

“I still have a heart on court and I try to use it try to fight with what I have which wasn’t much today. But at least, I was able to put it off and it’s relieving but some parts of this game was very frustrating,” Belinda concluded.

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Which outfit will Belinda wear in the second round?

Before going into the first match, Bencic asked her fans to select the on-court outfit for her. “The most people voted for the white one so I took the white one. It’s a really nice collection so I was really happy about it,” she answered.

Stating that it’s a pretty important topic for women’s players, the Swiss professional suggested that she might wear the golden outside next time.

Nevertheless, it’s good news for Swiss fans as the former World No.4 goes into the second round of the Australian Open 2021. She will face the winner between Svetlana Kuznetsova and Barbora Strycova next.

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